Poland and France to meet in European Volleyball Championship final

Poland and France booked their places in the final of the European men's volleyball championship after winning their semifinal matches in Milan on Friday.

Poland cruises past Slovenia

Poland swept Slovenia 3-0 (25:23, 25:23, 25:18) to reach the tournament final for the second consecutive time. Bartlomiej Bolądz led Poland's scoring with 14 points, while three other players added 11 points each. Bartosz Lemański stood out with four blocks. Poland's team is the same one that eliminated Latvia in the round of 16 earlier in the tournament. Slovenia, which won bronze at the previous championship and reached the semifinals for the fourth straight time, could not keep pace despite Nik Mujanović's 20 points, four of which came from serves.

France defeats Finland in four sets

In the other semifinal, France beat Finland 3-1 (25:17, 18:25, 25:18, 25:15) to also secure a final berth. Matisse Enot topped the French scoring with 21 points, attacking with a high 70 percent efficiency, while Theo Faure added 20 points. For Finland, Noah Martila scored 13 points and Joonas Jokela added 12, but it was not enough to advance.

Final and bronze match on Saturday

The championship's concluding matches — the final and the bronze medal game — will be played in Milan on Saturday. This year's tournament is hosted across several countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Finland and Italy. Latvia played its group-stage matches in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, alongside Romania, Germany, France, Switzerland and Turkey, finishing the tournament in 15th place. The round-of-16 and quarterfinal matches were held in Turin and Sofia, while the medals are being decided in Milan.