Lausanne, Switzerland, July 24, 2015 – France near-perfect season at the FIVB Volleyball World League concluded with a title-winning stint at the final against Serbia in straight sets on July 19.
France claimed their first ever title in the competition with a 17-1 record, only losing to the United States in the Final Round. The Frenchmen started their 2015 campaign with 15 consecutive wins in Group 2 – their longest ever winning streak in the World League – which propelled them to a fantastic finish in the Group 1 Final.
France became the eighth team to win in the World League after Brazil, Cuba, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Russia and USA. Their only other silverware in the competition came in 2006 when they lost the final to Brazil in the tie-break. France played in the fourth all-European World League final after 1990 between Italy and Netherlands, 1996 between Netherlands and Italy, and 2000 between Italy and Russia.
Meanwhile, runners-up Serbia have now lost all of their five finals appearances in the World League, joining Brazil in Cuba as the countries with most finals lost in the competition. With France winning the gold, Serbia are the only remaining team to have won a medal in the competition without claiming a title.
Last year’s winners, USA, claimed bronze in the 2015 edition after defeating Poland in straight sets. The USA played the final for third place for the third time, winning all three of them. In 1992, they defeated the Netherlands in four sets and in 2007 they won against Poland by the same scoreline.