Three gold medals in as many international competitions and two MVP awards – these are the numbers that best summarize 2015 for Bartosz Kwolek and the Polish U19 national team so far.

Little did we know about the talented Polish outside hitter when the national teams’ season started earlier this year. Kwolek is a product of Jastrzebski Wegiel’s school but was recruited by SMS PZPS Spala, Poland’s program for development of local youth talent, in the 2014-2015 campaign. The club is enlisted in the second Polish league and serves its purpose as a great opportunity, as seen by the results at international competitions, for Poland’s youth team to practice and perform all year long together.

Their performance in 2015 has been absolutely mesmerizing. Poland won consecutively the European U19 Championship in Turkey in April, then the European Youth Summer Olympic Festival in Georgia at the end of July, and the World U19 Championship in Argentina that finished this past weekend. The Polish talents grabbed many prizes and topped some individual rankings along the way of achieving these results, but one player attracted slightly more attention by seizing the MVP accolades at the European and the World Championship respectively – Bartosz Kwolek. The outside hitter was often the player to carry Poland’s offence load. His main strength, however, he showed from the service line. Kwolek was the best server at the European Championship and the second best at the World Championship, where he held the individual record by producing 10 aces in the quarterfinal against China (3-0).

Bartosz Kwolek

Born: July 17, 1997
Nationality: Polish
Position: Outside hitter
Height: 192 cm
Current club: Jastrzebski Wegiel