University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Beach Volleyball’s Michalska Finishes Seventh in Polish Championships
10/1/2025 3:27:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss rising senior Zuzanna Michalska recently competed in the Polish Beach Volleyball Championship in Poznan, Poland, where she and her partner Maja Kruczek moved up the rankings to finish seventh in the final standings.
The tournament consisted of the top 16 female pairs in Poland, with Michalska and her Kruczek earning the 12th-overall seed ahead of the event.
Michalska, a native of Warsaw, Poland, entered the tournament as the 12th-seeded pairing and played the fifth-seeded pair in the first round on Friday, Aug. 22. The duo fell in three sets (25-23, 20-22, 11-15) in the opening round before moving on to the second dual of the day where they again fell in three sets (21-18, 20-22, 9-15).
On Saturday, Aug. 23, Michalska and Kruczek opened up the day with a win over the seventh-seeded pair in straight sets (21-16, 21-12) to move into the quarterfinals. In the seventh-place dual, Michalska dropped the first set 14-21 before forcing another third set after a 24-22 win in set two.
In the deciding set, the opposing ninth-seeded pair won 15-11 to advance. Michalska's pair's performance was enough to solidify a finish inside the top eight against some of Poland's top talent. The tournament concluded on Sunday, Aug. 24, with Agnieszka Adamek and Aleksandra Gromadowska claiming the Polish national crown in three sets.
Last season, Michalska played 37 matches at the top flight for the Golden Eagles, finishing with a 17-20 overall ledger. Most impressively, the 2025 campaign was Michalska's first focusing solely on beach volleyball and just her third year playing the sport after picking up the game in 2023 after she arrived in the United States.
She earned Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors alongside her partner Madison Cassidy in her debut season in Hattiesburg. Before her arrival in the Hub City, she won the 2024 NJCAA Beach Volleyball National Championship at Palm Beach State College (Lake Worth, Fla.) and played at Spartanburg Methodist College (Saxon, S.C.) as a freshman in 2023.
Michalska also played for the indoor teams at Palm Beach State College and Spartanburg Methodist College before joining Southern Miss.
The tournament consisted of the top 16 female pairs in Poland, with Michalska and her Kruczek earning the 12th-overall seed ahead of the event.
Michalska, a native of Warsaw, Poland, entered the tournament as the 12th-seeded pairing and played the fifth-seeded pair in the first round on Friday, Aug. 22. The duo fell in three sets (25-23, 20-22, 11-15) in the opening round before moving on to the second dual of the day where they again fell in three sets (21-18, 20-22, 9-15).
On Saturday, Aug. 23, Michalska and Kruczek opened up the day with a win over the seventh-seeded pair in straight sets (21-16, 21-12) to move into the quarterfinals. In the seventh-place dual, Michalska dropped the first set 14-21 before forcing another third set after a 24-22 win in set two.
In the deciding set, the opposing ninth-seeded pair won 15-11 to advance. Michalska's pair's performance was enough to solidify a finish inside the top eight against some of Poland's top talent. The tournament concluded on Sunday, Aug. 24, with Agnieszka Adamek and Aleksandra Gromadowska claiming the Polish national crown in three sets.
Last season, Michalska played 37 matches at the top flight for the Golden Eagles, finishing with a 17-20 overall ledger. Most impressively, the 2025 campaign was Michalska's first focusing solely on beach volleyball and just her third year playing the sport after picking up the game in 2023 after she arrived in the United States.
She earned Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors alongside her partner Madison Cassidy in her debut season in Hattiesburg. Before her arrival in the Hub City, she won the 2024 NJCAA Beach Volleyball National Championship at Palm Beach State College (Lake Worth, Fla.) and played at Spartanburg Methodist College (Saxon, S.C.) as a freshman in 2023.
Michalska also played for the indoor teams at Palm Beach State College and Spartanburg Methodist College before joining Southern Miss.
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