New leader in Poland and a couple of surprising results!

The 19^th leg of the men’s volleyball PlusLiga in Poland has already produced a couple of quite surprising results in the direction of making the race for the playoff spots hotter in the days and weeks to come. Rookies InPost ChKS Chelm brought home the full three points from their visit to PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow, while Barkom Kazhany Lviv outlasted ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle in a five-set battle. It has also produced a new leader in the current standings after Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie shut out JSW Jastrzebski Wegiel in Jastrzebie-Zdroj.

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On Saturday afternoon, FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship bronze medalists Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie hammered out a 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-20) sweep of their road game at last year’s regular season winners JSW Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj and surged to the top of the table on 36 points and a 12-5 win-loss record, a point clear of the next two teams in the standings – defending champions BOGDANKA LUK Lublin and bronze medalists PGE Projekt Warsaw. Jastrzebski Wegiel remained in seventh place for now on 28 and 10-8. Outside hitter Bartosz Kwolek contributed a match-high 16 points towards Aluron’s victory. His tally featured 13 spike kills at a 62% success rate, two kill blocks and one ace, and earned him the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. American opposite Kyle Ensing added another 13 points. Opposite Lukasz Kaczmarek was the home team’s leading scorer, also with 13 points.

The leg opened on Friday evening, with a shocking 3-1 (12-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-23) road win for InPost ChKS Chelm over mighty PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow. This victory not only pulled the PlusLiga rookies further away from the relegation zone, but also put them closer to the playoff zone, in 11^th place on 19 and 6-12. SKRA are the team that are at the bottom of that playoff zone, in eighth place on 27 and 9-8, but with a game in hand. Iranian outside hitter Amirhossein Esfandiar was the MVP and the best scorer of the match. He put away 20 points in attack at a 61% success rate and one blocking point for Chelm. Opposite Remigiusz Kapica added another 13 points. French outside Antoine Pothron, with 18 points, was the most prolific scorer for the home side.

Later that evening, Ukraine’s Barkom Kazhany Lviv, the only foreign team in the PlusLiga, came back from two sets down to deliver another surprise – a 3-2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-14, 25-23, 15-11) home win over ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle. Barkom are also fighting for survival in the league and these two precious points lifted them to third from the bottom, in 12^th place on 15 and 5-13. ZAKSA, on the other hand, got a point closer to the cutoff line for the playoffs, standing ninth, now on 26 and 8-10. Australian outside Lorenzo Pope topped the match chart with 22 points for the winners, including three aces and two blocks, and claimed the MVP honors. Opposite Vasyl Tupchii chipped in with 21 points, also including three aces and two blocks. The other outside, Ilia Kovalov, finished with 18 points. Outside Rafal Szymura and Italian international opposite Kamil Rychlicki led ZAKSA with 14 points each.

The 19^th leg will continue with three matches on Sunday, February 1, and one on Monday, February 2.

PlusLiga 2025-2026 remaining 19^th leg matches:
Feb 01, 14:45 local (13:45 UTC): Asseco Resovia Rzeszow v BOGDANKA LUK Lublin
Feb 01, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): Energa Trefl Gdansk v PGE Projekt Warsaw
Feb 01, 20:00 local (19:00 UTC): Indykpol AZS Olsztyn v Steam Hemarpol Politechnika Czestochowa
Feb 02, 20:00 local (19:00 UTC): Slepsk Malow Suwalki v Cuprum Stilon Gorzow Wielkopolski

PlusLiga 2025-2026 schedule and results

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