Poland lift the trophy of the 2015 FIVB Volleyball Boys' U19 World Championship up high
Lausanne, Switzerland, December 27, 2015 - Poland presented a brand new generation of stars at the 2015 FIVB Volleyball Boys' U19 World Championship in Argentina, ready to take over from their more senior Polish idols.
Poland celebrate world U19 title at Argentina 2015.
Poland's youngsters moved through pool play and then the knockout stages undefeated in seven matches.
Argentina, meanwhile, had struggled, going all the way against France and losing to USA in pool play. But the home side nonetheless made it past arch-rivals Brazil in the quarterfinals...
Jan Martinez fails to stop Brazil's Kaio Ribeiro, but Argentina beat their arch-rivals 3-1 in the quarterfinals.
... before they came up against defending champions Russia in the semifinals. It took the home side almost two and a half hours and unrelenting support from 4,000 fans for a 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-11) win that saw Argentina qualify to meet Poland in the final.
But Poland had other ideas, and Tomasz Fornal scored 24 points to lead the European side to a3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 28-30, 25-18, 15-7) win and the World Championship trophy.
Iran, meanwhile, edged Russia in four sets 3-1 (25-17, 26-28, 25-16, 25-23) to claim the bronze medal.
Iran players throw coach Vakili Farjad Reza in the air, celebrating their victory againstRussia to claim bronze.
Bartosz Kwolek was rewarded for his vast contribution to Poland's success, by his nomination as Most Valuable Player, leading the tournament's Dream Team.
Dream Team of Argentina 2015, left to right:Best Outside Hitters, Jan Martinez (Argentina) and Kaio Ribeiro (Brazil); Best Middle Blockers, Scott Stadick (USA) andAliasghar Mojarad (Iran); Best Libero, Elias Alexandre Figueiredo (Brazil); Best Setter,Kamil Droszynski (Poland); Best Opposite,Dmitry Yakovlev (Russia); Most Valuable Player, Bartosz Kwolek (Poland).
Final ranking of the 2015 FIVB Volleyball Boys' U19 World Championship:
