SKRA and Trefl drop points in race for PlusLiga playoffs

Two of the four teams that are in a heated race for the remaining three vacancies in the men’s volleyball PlusLiga playoffs in Poland, JSW Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj and ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle, earned three-point victories as the matches of the 26^th leg unfolded, while the other two, PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow and Energa Trefl Gdansk, lost points – three and one, respectively – but are still well in contention to qualify for the quarterfinals with two games to go.

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PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow suffered a serious blow as they were shut out at home by PGE Projekt Warsaw. On Sunday, last season’s bronze medalists from the capital mastered a 3-0 (27-25, 25-20, 25-17) sweep, with outside hitter Bartosz Firszt the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and top scorer with 21 points for the winners. SKRA lost some ground in the current standings dropping a spot to seventh place on 38 points and a 13-11 win-loss record, still two points above the cut-off line for the playoffs. Meanwhile, Projekt consolidated in second place on 51 in 18-7.

Energa Trefl Gdansk surprisingly lost the first two sets at home against second-division-bound Steam Hemarpol Politechnika Czestochowa on Saturday, before pushing back to mount a 3-2 (21-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-16, 15-10) reverse sweep. German outside hitter Tobias Brand was Trefl’s leading scorer with 21 points, while Finnish libero Voitto Koykka earned the MVP award. Outside Jakub Kiedos produced a match-high 22 points for Steam, including four kill blocks and three aces. Steam are stuck at the bottom of the table, in 14^th place on 17 and 4-21. Adding two points to their record, Trefl are still within the playoff zone, in eighth place on 36 and 13-11.

Ninth-placed ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle, however, caught up with Trefl on points after a 3-0 (31-29, 25-17, 25-18) shutout of their hosts InPost ChKS Chelm on Friday. Three players – ZAKSA’s outside Jakub Szymanski (three aces) and opposite Kamil Rchlicki, and Chelm’s opposite Remigiusz Kapica (three aces) – shared the top scorer honors with 13 points each. The MVP nomination went to middle blocker Karol Urbanowicz, who registered an impressive 85% success rate in attack for the winners. The team from Kedzierzyn-Kozle remained just below the red line on 36 and 11-13. Chelm are second from the bottom, in 13^th place on 23 and 7-18.

Last year’s regular season winners JSW Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj, on the other hand, overtook SKRA into sixth place on 39 and 14-10. On Saturday, they put together a 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 24-26, 25-23) home victory over Cuprum Stilon Gorzow Wielkopolski, who descended to 12^th place on 24 and 7-17. Outside Michal Gierzot contributed 18 points and claimed the MVP honors. His cross-court teammate Nicolas Szerszen led Jastrzebski Wegiel’s scorers with 20 points, while their 21-year-old French counterpart Mathis Henno topped the match chart with 22 points for Cuprum Stilon.

In Friday’s remake of last year’s final, PlusLiga runners-up and FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship bronze medalists Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie hammered out a merciless 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-16) shutout of their hosts, defending champions BOGDANKA LUK Lublin. Aluron had already secured pole position for the playoffs as regular season winners. Now they are on 59 and 20-5 on top of the table, while BOGDANKA are in third place on 47 and 16-8, with a game in hand. American outside Aaron Russell led the winners with a match-high 15 points. Middle Mateusz Bieniek chipped in with four aces and seven spike kills at a 78% success rate and claimed the MVP award.

In a race for better positioning in the playoff bracket, Asseco Resovia Rzeszow and Indykpol AZS Olsztyn put up a rollercoaster five-set battle in the leg’s closing match on Monday evening. Resovia celebrated a 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 19-25, 25-16, 15-11) win, not enough to surpass their visitors in the standings. The team from Rzeszow stayed in fifth place, now on 45 and 16-8, but with a game in hand, while the squad from Olsztyn is fourth on 46 and 16-9. Indykpol’s German outside Moritz Karlitzek was the best scorer of the match with 25 points. His counterpart Artur Szalpuk led the winners with 22, including three aces. Spiking at a solid 92% success rate, Canadian middle Danny Demyanenko finished with a total of 14 points for Resovia and received the MVP award.

In another five-set duel, Slepsk Malow Suwalki delivered a 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-14, 15-12) road victory over Barkom Kazhany Lviv and consolidated in 10^th place on 28 and 8-17. With the point earned, the Ukrainian team overtook Cuprum Stilon into 11^th place on 24 and 8-16. Opposite and captain Bartosz Filipiak led Slepsk Malow with 22 points and picked up the MVP prize. Australian outside Lorenzo Pope emerged as the match top scorer with 25 points for Barkom Kazhany.

Next on the PlusLiga program is some midweek action from Tuesday, March 17, to Thursday, March 19, featuring four delayed fixtures of the 21^st and the 23^rd legs.

PlusLiga 2025-2026 upcoming matches:
Mar 17, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): Cuprum Stilon Gorzow Wielkopolski v ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle
Mar 17, 20:00 local (19:00 UTC): Energa Trefl Gdansk v BOGDANKA LUK Lublin
Mar 18, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): Barkom Kazhany Lviv v PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow
Mar 19, 20:00 local (19:00 UTC): Asseco Resovia Rzeszow v JSW Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj

PlusLiga 2025-2026 schedule and results

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