Busy weekend can determine last three PlusLiga semifinalists

The first team qualified for the 2024-2025 PlusLiga semifinals, two-time defending champions JSW Jastrzębski Węgiel will get company this weekend, when all three remaining quarterfinal series in the league could be resolved – and at least one will.

The duel between BOGDANKA LUK Lublin and ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle will certainly have a winner determined as the teams are set to meet for a third and final time on Sunday, at 14:45 local time (13:45 GMT). Two other semifinalists could emerge earlier on Saturday, when Asseco Resovia Rzeszów host Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie at 14:45 (13:45 GMT) and PGE GiEK SKRA Bełchatów welcome PGE Projekt Warsaw at 17:30 (16:30 GMT).

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The first of the three matches scheduled for the weekend, the duel between Asseco and Aluron will come to an end if Aluron follow up on their 3-1 home victory last weekend and secure another win, this time on the road. Standing just one win away from the semifinals, they want to keep their focus and get the job done.

“We did a great job to win the first match, but that doesn’t give us anything yet,” said Australian libero Luke Perry. “We need to go to Rzeszów with the same mindset and ready for another difficult match. We’re in a moment of the season in which every match is a final.”

After dropping the first match of the series on the road, Asseco had an opportunity to bounce back on Wednesday, when they faced Türkiye’s Ziraat Bank Ankara at home in the first leg of the 2025 CEV Cup Finals, but they ended up losing 3-2 and will be under even more pressure on Saturday.

“Right now, we simply have to give it our all,” French Olympic champion opposite Stephen Boyer reflected. “We worked very hard to be able to play at our best in the most important moments of the season. We went through a lot this season, from having a difficult start to playing very good volleyball, and we managed to fix our problems and get here. On Saturday, we just want to show what we worked for.”

Later on Saturday, it will be Projekt Warsaw’s turn to try to secure their spot in the semifinals. The team started the series against SKRA with a strong 3-0 victory at home on Friday and will try to get another one to advance, this time playing as visitors.

“We’re happy to have won the first match, but we know it’s only the first step,” outside hitter Artur Szalpuk remarked. “We now want to win the next one too and advance to the semifinals. It’s never easy against them and we don’t care how the match plays out, but we want to move forward.”

For SKRA, who lost all three matches to Projekt Warsaw this season, it’s time to start changing things and they count on the support of their fans to do it.

“I think we showed a lot of fight in the first match, but could maybe have been a little calmer on the court because at the end of the day, it came down to two or three balls in each set,” said middle blocker Łukasz Wiśniewski. “But we keep our heads up. We have nothing to lose now and we’ll put everything we have on the line at home.”

It’s now or never for Lublin and ZAKSA

While the two other series could still extend beyond this weekend, Lublin and ZAKSA know they need to win on Sunday to keep their seasons going.

The momentum is on Lublin’s side after they came back from a first-round loss to beat their opponents in straight sets on the road on Tuesday and bring the third and final match of the series to their homecourt.

“I was very happy that we won the second match and to see that the defeat at home in the first match didn’t change our attitude,” said setter Marcin Komenda. “After that match, we knew it was still in our hands and we showed from the start that we wanted to extend the series. The atmosphere in Lublin will be amazing and we’ll do everything to take the win.”

Things got complicated for ZAKSA even before they got on the court for the second match as star opposite and Polish national team captain Bartosz Kurek sustained a back injury and couldn’t play on Tuesday. His presence at Sunday’s match is still uncertain.

“Missing Bartosz is obviously huge, but Mateusz (Rećko, opposite) stepped up and played well, as he always does,” setter Marcin Janusz remarked. “I didn’t see the same fire that we showed in the first match and I hope that it returns for the next one because the series is open. We didn’t win it in the first match and we didn’t lose it in the second. We need to go out there and fight for the victory.”

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