Poland broke Turkey after five sets in the VNL: a comeback in Gliwice worth stability near the top of the standings
The Polish men’s national volleyball team recorded an important victory in the second week of the Volleyball Nations League 2026, defeating Turkey 3:2 in a Pool 5 match in Gliwice. According to the official competition record on Volleyball World, the match was played on June 25, 2026, at 20:00 local time, and the sets ended 26:28, 25:19, 25:21, 19:25 and 15:11. It was a duel in which Poland had to make up for a lost first set, survive renewed Turkish pressure in the fourth section and then, in the tie-break, show more composure in the closing stage.
The match had almost all the elements typical of matches in which the rhythm of the entire week is decided: a long first section, a change of rhythm, periods of very effective Turkish play in attack and a Polish response through more patient, more rational volleyball. Turkey showed on several occasions that it could maintain a high level of aggression, especially when it was able to speed up points over the edges of the net. Poland, however, after the initial blow, found enough stability to turn the result around and, in the key fifth set, maintain its lead after the middle of the section. Such an outcome brought Poland two points for the 3:2 victory, while Turkey, according to the VNL scoring system for matches decided in five sets, took one point.
The first set hinted at a long and demanding duel
The start of the match immediately showed that the game would be far from routine. Turkey won the first set 28:26, which already in the opening section put psychological pressure on the Polish side. The very fact that the set went beyond the standard 25 points says how little separated the opponents in the finish and how much every decision in reception, service and counterattack carried weight. According to the official Volleyball World result, Poland opened the match with a defeat in the most uncertain section of the encounter, but it did not fall apart after the lost advantage or missed opportunities in the finish.
The response came in the second set, which Poland won 25:19. That result shows a significant change in control of the game: after the failure in the extended finish of the first section, the Polish national team managed to reduce the number of crisis situations and turn pressure into an advantage. The second set was not only an equalizer of the overall result, but also a signal that Poland could withstand Turkish strength in attack if it kept the ball in play longer and forced the opponent into an additional hit. In matches of this profile, precisely that transition, from emotional depletion toward a controlled continuation, often determines the final outcome.
Poland won the third set 25:21 and thus took the lead in the match for the first time. It was a section in which the winning team further strengthened its rhythm, although Turkey did not disappear from the match. A four-point difference is not huge, but in the context of the encounter it was enough to allow Poland a more stable entry into the continuation. After three sets it looked as though the host of the pool had the match under control, but the fourth section completely changed the tone of the finish. Turkey responded very convincingly, won the set 25:19 and took the duel into a fifth set.
The tie-break rewarded Polish patience
The fifth set often does not reward the team that had the nicer statistical details throughout the match, but the one that establishes order more quickly in the shorter format. Poland was more concrete in the decisive section and celebrated 15:11, thereby closing the match after five sets. Such a result shows that the winning side had better control over mistakes in the finish and used the decisive balls more effectively. In a tie-break there is no room for long corrections, so every series of two or three points could significantly change the balance.
According to the text coverage by WP SportoweFakty, the final point came after a Turkish attack out of bounds at 14:11 for Poland. That detail summarizes the final image of the match well: Turkey was dangerous in attack for a large part of the encounter, but at the most sensitive moment it had to take risks and made a mistake. Poland, on the other hand, waited for the moment when the pressure fell on the opponent, and it did not let slip the advantage it had gained in the finish. In journalistic terms, this was not a victory that can be described as domination, but rather as endurance in a match in which the balance was constantly shifting.
The importance of the fifth set is additionally visible in the points effect. According to the VNL standings rules, a 3:0 or 3:1 victory brings three points, while a 3:2 victory brings two points to the winner and one point to the defeated national team. Because of that, Poland remained in a positive results flow with the victory, but could not capitalize on the match to the maximum. Turkey, despite the defeat, extracted a point from Gliwice that may be important in the continuation of the preliminary phase, especially if the battle for places around the line for the final tournament becomes even tighter.
Statistics reveal why the match was uncertain
The statistical overview by the Sport1 portal shows that the overall impression was not one-sided. Poland, according to that source, won a total of 110 points, and Turkey 104. The same overview states that Turkey was more successful in points from attack, 68 to 61, and that it had one ace more, 5 to 4. The block was even, with nine points on each side. The biggest difference appeared in points from opponent errors: Poland gained 36 points from Turkish errors, while Turkey won 22 points in the same way.
Such a ratio explains the paradox of the match. Turkey had a stronger numerical effect in pure attacking production, but the larger number of errors reduced the value of that attacking surplus. Poland was therefore able to win the encounter even though it was not more dominant in all segments of the game. In modern national-team volleyball, especially at the VNL level, risk control is often just as important as maximum attacking power. When the difference in attack is relatively clear, but the winner still comes from the other side, it is usually a combination of better pressure management, calmer closing of sets and more effective use of gifted points.
Individually, Sport1 singled out Aleksander Śliwka with 20 points and Artur Szalpuk with 17 points as the most prominent Polish scorers. On the Turkish side, the performance of Adis Lagumdžija resonated the most, with the same statistical overview crediting him with 31 points. Such an output confirms that Turkey had an extremely strong attacking axis, but also that Poland handled the distribution of the burden better in a longer match. In a five-set match, one extraordinary attacking performance is rarely enough; it is necessary to maintain the structure of the game even at moments when the opponent reads the main directions of attack.
The VNL standings give the victory additional weight
Volleyball World, in the current standings of the preliminary phase after six Polish matches played, showed Poland with a 4-2 record and 11 points, while Turkey after six appearances had a 3-3 record and 9 points. In the standings published on the official competition website, Poland was among the national teams holding positions for passage to the final phase, while Turkey was right in the zone where every next result can significantly change the perspective. That does not mean that anything has been settled, because the preliminary part of the VNL runs through several tournament weeks, but the result from Gliwice clearly affects the balance of power in the middle and upper part of the table.
According to Volleyball World’s official explanation, the eight best national teams from the preliminary phase will qualify for the final phase, with the host nation of the final tournament having a guaranteed place. FIVB earlier announced that the men’s VNL 2026 competition brings together 18 national teams and that the season leads toward the finals in China. In such a system, every match has double value: it brings points for the VNL standings, but at the same time also affects the broader impression of the form of national teams measuring themselves against the best in the world. A five-set victory does not look as convincing as 3:0, but in a long competition it can be decisive precisely because it prevents a direct points gain by a competitor.
For Poland, this result is important also because of the way it reached it. A team that loses the first set by a margin, returns to the lead and then loses the fourth set 19:25 must show mental resilience in the fifth section. In this case, Poland avoided the scenario in which the Turkish comeback would completely overturn the match. For Turkey, the impression remains that it was close enough to a big victory, but not precise enough in the final points. It is precisely such matches that, in the final sum, are often remembered either as missed opportunities or as victories that stabilize a season.
Gliwice is one of the centers of the second week of the men’s Nations League
Pool 5 is being played in Gliwice, a city in the Silesian Voivodeship in Poland, and Volleyball World listed PreZero Arena as the venue for that group in the ticket information. The same overview states that Poland, Argentina, Germany, Belgium, Turkey and China gather in Gliwice from June 24 to 28, 2026. This gives additional context to the duel between Poland and Turkey: it is not an isolated match, but part of a tournament block in which national teams must constantly change tactical focus in a short time. Such a rhythm especially tests squad depth, recovery and the ability of coaching staffs to quickly adjust the game plan.
FIVB, in its announcement of the schedule for 2026, emphasized that the VNL is formatted as a global competition with several host cities and with 18 men’s and 18 women’s national teams. The men’s part of the competition began on June 10, 2026, in Linyi in China, and the second week includes, among other things, tournaments in France, Poland and Slovenia. In such a schedule, Gliwice has the role of a European hub for a group that combines national teams of different styles. Poland in that group has the advantage of familiarity with the hall and support from the stands, but the match against Turkey showed that even such a context does not guarantee a calm path to points.
An important element of the VNL is also the fact that matches are played in a sequence, without the long gap that is usual in club championships. Volleyball World in the official schedule states that Poland plays against Germany in Gliwice on June 27, 2026. That means that victory over Turkey leaves little time either for celebration or for excessive analysis, but immediately opens preparation for a new style of play and a new opponent. Turkey also has to quickly find a response, because the point won has value only if it is built upon in the next matches of Pool 5.
Poland won a match that could have turned to either side
The greatest value of Poland’s victory is not only in the final 3:2, but in the fact that the team survived several different types of pressure. First it had to react after losing a set by a margin, then confirm the comeback through the second and third sets, and finally recover from a convincingly lost fourth section. Such a path of a match often exposes weaknesses, but at the same time gives coaches a clearer picture of players who can endure finishes under pressure. Poland showed in Gliwice that even in a non-ideal match it can find a way to victory.
Turkey, on the other hand, can draw both positive and warning conclusions from the encounter. The attacking output and the ability to come back in the fourth set confirm that the team has the quality for an equal fight with teams from the upper part of the standings. The problem was in the price of that risk: too many points went to the Polish side through errors, and in the fifth set such a burden is difficult to make up. If Turkey in the continuation of the competition manages to maintain the attacking level with a smaller number of unforced errors, it can remain a serious competitor in the battle for a higher placement.
For a neutral observer, the match offered a good cross-section of the demands of the VNL. Attack power alone is not enough, the block alone is not enough, nor is it enough to have a good set or two. The competition rewards national teams that can survive oscillations, distribute energy and make accurate decisions when the result approaches the limit of 15 points in the fifth set. Poland, on June 25, 2026, in Gliwice, was better than Turkey precisely in that narrow space, and the 3:2 result will remain one of those that bring only two points in the table, but in a psychological sense can mean significantly more.
Sources:
- Volleyball World – official match record Poland - Türkiye in the VNL 2026, including date, venue, phase, sets and final result (link)
- Volleyball World – official overview of the VNL 2026 standings and explanation of passage to the final phase (link)
- Volleyball World – official VNL 2026 competition formula, including the number of national teams, number of matches and passage of the best eight to the final phase (link)
- FIVB – announcement of the Volleyball Nations League 2026 schedule, number of national teams, start of the men’s competition and framework of the finals in China (link)
- Volleyball World – information on tickets and hosts of the VNL 2026, including Pool 5 in Gliwice and PreZero Arena (link)
- WP SportoweFakty – text coverage and basic statistics of the Poland - Turkey match (link)
- Sport1.pl – statistical overview of the match and the performance of individual players (link)
- Volleyball World – official schedule of Poland’s next match against Germany in Gliwice on June 27, 2026 (link)