WARSAW (Reuters) - Italy men’s volleyball team won the 2022 FIVB World Championship title after beating twice defending champions Poland 22-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-20 in Katowice on Sunday.
Outside hitter Daniele Lavia turned out to be the top scorer for the new world champions with 19 points, while Aleksander Sliwka scored 12 points for Nikola Grbic’s team.
The Italian side guided by Ferdinando De Giorgi was close to winning the first set as they led 21-17, but Poland turned it in their favor after a stunning finish. Lukasz Kaczmarek and Bartosz Kurek spiked effectively, while Aleksander Sliwka blocked well to make it 25-21.
Italy then found their feet to take the initiative. Lavia contributed powerful attacks and captain Simone Gianelli delivered an important ace to level the game 20-20. Then Lavia coped with the Polish block, while Simone Anzani stopped Kamil Semeniuk to close out the second set 25-21 for Italy.
The visiting European champions continued their momentum in the third set, allowing Poland to score just 18 points, finding a way to stop the hosts’ leader Bartosz Kurek, and keeping the pressure until the very end.
When Mateusz Bieniek hit the ball into the net from the service area, Italy started to celebrate winning the title.
Earlier on the day, Brazil beat Slovenia 25-18, 25-18, 22-25, 25-18 to take the bronze medal. Opposite Wallace De Souza delivered a game-high 22 points for Brazil, while Toncek Stern had 17 points for Slovenia.