STAL Mielec ready to fight to protect their playoff spot against UNI Opole

The last team inside the qualification zone for the 2025-2026 Tauron Liga playoffs, ITA TOOLS STAL Mielec will try to continue there after the matches of the fifth leg of the second round of the regular season are completed this weekend.

Set to face third-placed UNI Opole at home on Monday, at 17:30 local time (18:30 UTC), STAL Mielec already know exactly what they need to keep their spot among the teams that will compete in the postseason for at least another week.

• Watch the Tauron Liga live on VBTV

Currently in eighth place with 16 points (six wins, eight losses), the team can only be passed by MOYA Radomka Radom, who chase them in ninth place, with 15 points (five wins, nine losses). With their opponents facing 14th-placed EcoHarpoon NOWEL LOS Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, who have won just one point all season, STAL Mielec know they will very likely need to earn points against UNI Opole to be safe. If they manage to win the match, they can even aim higher, pushing to pass Metalkas Pałac Bydgoszcz, who have 18 points (six wins, eight losses), for seventh place.

STAL Mielec enter Monday's encounter in good form, having won back-to-back matches for just the second time in the season after topping #VolleyWrocław and Pałac. The positive results got the team inside the qualification zone, moving from ninth to eighth place.

The third-best scorer in the Tauron Liga with 226 points, outside hitter Aleksandra Kazała has been a force offensively for the team. Defensively, middle blocker Rozalia Moszyńska, who leads the league in blocks (48), and libero Julia Mazur, who ranks fourth in digs (183), are the standouts.

Their opponents UNI Opole also have a lot to play for, as a 3-0 or 3-1 win would get them to the same 36 points as second-placed PGE Budowlani Łódź, who don't play this weekend - they would still be behind in the set ratio tie-breaker, however. UNI Opole also come from back-to-back victories and triumphed in 11 of their last 12 matches.

Their veteran opposite Katarzyna Zaroślińska-Król is one of only two players to top Kazała in points scored in the Tauron Liga this season, leading the league with 243. Mexican outside hitter Uxue Guereca, who already earned five match MVP awards in 2025-2026, is second in aces, with 25.

STAL Mielec have a positive record against UNI Opole in Polish League matches, having won three of the five duels between the teams so far. UNI Opole, however, were dominant in the first round of the regular season, winning in straight sets at home.

Super Saturday has four matches

The Tauron Liga will have an unusually loaded Saturday schedule this week, with four matches taking place on the day. The first two will have 14th-placed Nowy Dwór facing ninth-placed Radomka Radom at 12:30 (13:30 UTC) and fourth-placed BKS BOSTIK ZGO Bielsko-Biała meeting seventh-placed Pałac at 17:30 (18:30 UTC).

Later, tenth-placed Sokół & Hagric Mogilno meet fifth-placed ŁKS Commercecon Łódź at 19:00 (20:00 UTC), and league leaders KS DevelopRes Rzeszów battle sixth-placed LOTTO Chemik Police at 20:00 (21:00 UTC).

Tauron Liga - Match Schedule & Results

The duel between second-placed Budowlani and 11th-placed #VolleyWrocław has been postponed to February 11.

Quick links:
Tauron Liga
VBTV
Volleyball World Facebook
Volleyball World X
Volleyball World Instagram
Volleyball World YouTube
Subscribe to Volleyball World's Newsletter