Photo by Iñaki Esnaola
After three days of competition and 32 matches later, the finals of the Special Olympics Unified Volleyball World Cup are set.
Special Olympics United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Special Olympics Ukraine advance to the women’s championship, playing their match on Wednesday, 8 October at 10:30 CEST on court #1.
On the men’s side, Special Olympics Saudi Arabia and Special Olympics Slovakia will faceoff for the gold on court #1 at 13:00 CEST on Wednesday, 8 October.
Finishing out group play, Special Olympics Poland (Men’s/Mixed, A), Special Olympics Slovakia (Men’s/Mixed, B), Special Olympics UAE (Women’s, C), and Special Olympics Ukraine (Women’s, D) all topped their groups.
In a surprising twist, no team made it through the Cup unbeaten, showcasing how competitive and well-matched both the men’s/mixed and women’s divisions have been.
Day 3 brought unique situations relating to game tactics and strategy that were different for each team depending on if they knew they were through to the playoffs yet or still needed another win to secure their fate. Multiple teams had to take on a new style of gamesmanship to ensure their ticket to the final. Others, who were battling in the non-medal contention matches, never gave up. These teams played with even more intensity and unity, ensuring each team member played their part in helping the team finish as high as possible in the Cup.
A standout match of the day was the battle between Special Olympics Poland and Special Olympics Saudi Arabia (Men’s/Mixed). Saudi Arabia gave Poland its first loss of the tournament downing the team 2:1 in sets, but not before Saudi Arabia did everything in their power to make sure Poland earned their win over them.
On one play, Special Olympics Poland thought the ball was going out of bounds for a point and they started to celebrate. A Special Olympics Saudi Arabia player didn’t give up though and managed to swing his foot out and pop the ball into the air before it touched the wood. His quick action spurred his teammate at center blocker to lock in and react with his feet as well, popping the ball up again. By then, a third teammate joined in and had time to smack the ball over the net keeping the rally alive. The two teams played out the rally for another 30 seconds with both teams landing a few strategically placed balls around their opponent’s half. Although the point went to Poland in the end, there was a strong momentum shift for Saudi Arabia which helped them in securing the win over Poland in the end.
Special Olympics United States (Men’s/Mixed) displayed team unity and perseverance while improving their skills over the last three days of matches. The team learned from each other on and off the court and were able to study and learn from the other teams competing. While not coming out victorious, the team did not let that keep them down and continued to fight back in each set.
| Group A Men’s/Mixed |
Group B Men’s/Mixed |
Group C Women’s |
Group D Women’s |
| POL | AUT | ITA | KEN |
| IRQ | FIN | NAM | MGL |
| USA | KSA | IND | UKR |
| SRB | SVK | UAE | SRB |
** IND is Bharat (India) **
Coming up on Wednesday, 8 October:
9:00 CEST:
- Special Olympics Kenya vs. Special Olympics Bharat (India) – Court #1 – 3rd Place Match
- Special Olympics Mongolia vs. Special Olympics Serbia – Court #2 – 7th Place Match
10:30 CEST
- Special Olympics UAE vs. Special Olympics Ukraine – Court #1 – 1st Place Match
- Special Olympics Namibia vs. Special Olympics Italy – Court #2 – 5th Place Match
12:00 CEST
- Special Olympics Poland vs. Special Olympics Iraq – Court #1 – 3rd Place Match
- Special Olympics Austria vs. Special Olympics USA – Court #2 – 7th Place Match
13:30 CEST
- Special Olympics Saudi Arabia vs. Special Olympics Slovakia – Court #1 – 1st Place Match
- Special Olympics Serbia vs. Special Olympics Finland – Court #2 – 5th Place Match
16:00 CEST
· Awards
