The Cuban national volleyball team delivered a seismic upset Thursday in Gdansk, defeating world-ranked #1 Poland 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-21, 26-24) in their third week of Volleyball Nations League preliminary play. Before a stunned crowd of 9,000 at Ergo Arena, the Caribbean squad claimed their first victory over the Polish team since 2010.

Coming off Wednesday’s dramatic five-set win against Bulgaria, Cuba carried their momentum into Thursday’s match. After dropping the first set, they roared back to take three straight against the tournament’s fourth-place team. The victory earned Cuba three crucial points in their quest to qualify for the VNL finals, keeping them seventh in the standings with six wins and 18 points, trailing only France and Ukraine on set ratio.

Marlon Yant powered Cuba’s offence with a match-high 18 points (15 kills, 2 aces, 1 block), supported by José Massó (15 points), Miguel Ángel López (12 points) and Javier Concepción (10 points).

«This was no surprise for us,» Concepción said afterwards. «We maintained our high level throughout and fought for every point. While we’re thrilled with this win, we know our work isn’t finished.»

Poland’s offence came primarily from Kevin Sasak (11 kill points) and Tomasz Fornal (10 points). The loss leaves Poland fourth in the standings with seven wins and 20 points.

Cuba faces their next challenge Friday at 10:30 AM Cuban time when it takes on Olympic champions France at Ergo Arena. The match represents another opportunity for the resurgent Cuban squad to strengthen its position in the tournament standings.

The back-to-back victories over Bulgaria and Poland demonstrate Cuba’s growing momentum as they push for a spot in the VNL finals. Their performance against the world’s top-ranked team serves notice that the Caribbean squad remains a force in international volleyball.