Confusion over call-ups to the Polish national team. The selector revealed the truth

Exactly a week after coach Nikola Grbic officially revealed who would be in the full squad of the Polish national volleyball team, it was time for the women’s team. It must be admitted that Stefano Lavarini certainly had a much more difficult task than the Serb.

Here is the composition of the Polish national volleyball team. This will be the 2026 season

The greater difficulty resulted from several issues. First of all, several players said goodbye to the Polish national team for various reasons. This is the loudest breakup in recent days, this is the final end of her volleyball career, announced by Agnieszka Korneluk. That is, one of the team leaders, who is also the captain of the Polish national team.

The Polish Volleyball Association published the list of those appointed, including coach Lavarini’s choices with a comment from the player himself. Interestingly, the Italian talked not only about the team’s plans, but also about why some players were not among those called up.

There were also honest words from the coach, sometimes even quite bitter ones.

– While creating this list, as you know, I had to face some difficulties and rejections, and some players rejected the invitation. Honestly, this has happened every season since I’ve been in office, with the possible exception of the Olympic season, because then basically all the players, deservedly or not, seemed ready to participate in training camps. I don’t like to go into details about the reasons why players do not accept call-ups to the national team. Firstly, because I think it is fair that certain reasons or conversations remain between me and the players for their privacy, and also because I do not want to fuel controversy. This is the main reason – admitted Lavarini in the content that appears on the official website of the Polish Football Association.

The fact that Lavarini explains from A to Z what the problem is in some cases is also quite telling. It seems that the Italian coach may not be comfortable with some of the representatives.

Additionally, there are allegations related to quite narrow choices, if it can be defined this way, taking into account the official matches of the national team. Even if there are a lot of names called up, many players remain without playing in the competition.

Of course, this is the coach’s right – because he is responsible for the results achieved by the Polish national team. However, it must be openly admitted that the list of absent volleyball players is much longer than in the case of those who, similarly, were not called up or were not able to use by coach Nikola Grbic.

– However, I would like to present my point of view once again, because since I came here, I have been trying to instill a certain culture and I will not change my mind on this matter. I am also glad that in recent days I have found ideas in Nikola Grbic’s words that are very similar to mine. Of course, each player has the right to respond positively or negatively to being called up to the national team, but when you respond positively, you are always available. You can’t come to the national team and choose your availability for one tournament, one training camp, one moment or one role, in my opinion you should be available for what the national team needs from you. Of course, there are often serious, important, and significant reasons why one may not accept a calling in a given season or moment, but of course the weight of these reasons can affect how a person will be perceived in the future. This has already happened in previous years and will always be the case – added Lavarini, also pointing to a similar view of the national team as in the case of the Serbian coach of the Poles.

The list of appointees does not include, among others: Julia Nowicka, Olivia Różański, Weronika Centka, Joanna Lelonkiewicz, Zuzanna Górecka and Dominika Pierzchała.

The first training camp of the volleyball team in the 2026 season will start on May 4 in Wałcz.

The next stage will be a friendly tournament in Italy, which will take place on May 22-24. Afterwards, the Polish national team will go to the first week of the Volleyball Nations League, which will be played in China.