Poland sweeps Israel in Sofia

The Polish men's national volleyball team recorded its second consecutive 3:0 victory at the Men's European Volleyball Championship, defeating Israel in Sofia on Saturday afternoon. The match concluded with set scores of 25:16, 25:17, and 25:18, ensuring that the defending European champions have yet to drop a set in the competition. Head coach Nikola Grbić directed a disciplined performance that prevented the Israeli team from establishing an advantage in any of the three frames. The victory followed Poland's opening 3:0 win against Portugal on Thursday in the Bulgarian capital. Israel entered the fixture seeking its first points of the tournament after opening its Group B campaign with a 1:3 defeat against Ukraine.

Squad contributions and set progression

Poland opened the match with a starting rotation comprising Szymon Jakubiszak, Marcin Komenda, Wilfredo Leon, Jakub Nowak, Kewin Sasak, Kamil Semeniuk, and libero Jakub Popiwczak. In the first set, Sasak collected five points and Semeniuk scored six points to establish an early lead and close out a 25:16 win. Poland adjusted its distribution to the middle attack in the second set, where Jakubiszak generated six points while Semeniuk added five more points to secure the 25:17 result. After Leon was rested in the third set, Aleksander Śliwka took over on the wing and produced six points to finish the match 25:18. Coach Grbić also utilized Bartłomiej Bołądź, Jan Firlej, Tomasz Fornal, Artur Szalpuk, and second libero Maksymilian Granieczny from the bench.

Set 116

Set 217

Set 318

Set 1

16 points

Set 2

17 points

Set 3

18 points

Data from the article text

Israel performance and roster depth

Israel entered the match with a starting unit featuring Noam Ariel, Viacheslav Batchkala, Iliya Goldrin, Ilay Haver, Shay Liberman, Nikita Maron, and libero Omri Roitman. The Israeli squad received additional court time from substitutes Omri Alon, Yuval Chansky, Dovydas Grybauskas, Lior Kopilevich, Itamar Peleg, and second libero Eran Halachmi. Prior to the match, Israel occupied 28th place in the world rankings, placing them as the second-lowest ranked team competing in Group B. Earlier in the season, the team posted six consecutive victories during the preliminary phase of the European League before being eliminated by the Netherlands in two semi-final matches. Against Poland's block and attacking pressure, Israel managed a maximum of 18 points in any single set.

Group B standings and tournament schedule

The 2026 European Championship is co-hosted by four countries, with matches taking place across Bulgaria, Finland, Romania, and Italy. Poland will play its entire preliminary group schedule and any knockout fixtures through the quarterfinal round at the arena in Sofia, before the medal matches shift to Milan. The Polish team entered this tournament holding both the European title and the Nations League crown, mirroring their exact success pattern from three years ago. Saturday's other Group B fixture in Sofia matches co-hosts Bulgaria against Ukraine. Poland returns to the court on Sunday for its third group match, taking on North Macedonia.