Thrilling five-setters propel Lublin and Aluron to PlusLiga final

On a thrilling Saturday, two exciting five-set victories on the road in the deciding third-leg matches in the best-of-five Polish PlusLiga semifinal playoffs propelled BOGDANKA LUK Lublin and Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie to the championship final, while both regular season winners and defending champions Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj and regular season runners-up PGE Projekt Warsaw were knocked out of contention for the title and will have to cross swords for the bronze.

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A solid performance by outside hitter Tomasz Fornal, garnished with as many as seven aces and four kill blocks towards a match-high 28 points, was not enough for Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj to stay on track in defending their title. Powered by opposite Kewin Sasak with five kill blocks and 17 successful swings towards a team-high 22 points, BOGDANKA LUK Lublin celebrated a rollercoaster 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 26-24, 23-25, 15-9) upset of their mighty opponents and advanced to the PlusLiga final for the first time in history, also securing their first ever PlusLiga podium. Sasak earned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the match recognition. Outside Wilfredo Leon contributed 19 points to Lublin’s success, including two aces and a block. His cross-court teammate Mikolaj Sawicki put away 10 points, including two blocks and an ace. Also with 19 and 10 points, respectively, Jastrzebski Wegiel’s opposite Lukasz Kaczmarek and German middle blocker Anton Brehme were the other two players to reach the double digits in scoring.

Outside Bartosz Kwolek was Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie’s leading scorer in the nail-biting 3-2 (25-19, 21-25, 21-25, 25-19, 16-14) victory at PGE Projekt Warsaw. His 19-point tally included three blocks and an ace. Middle Mateusz Bieniek raised five kill blocks and finished with a total of 10 points. American opposite Kyle Ensing, who came in halfway through the match, managed to contribute 14 points, all in attack at a 67% success rate, while outside Patryk Laba, who also came in as a substitute during sets two and three and stayed on as a starter in sets four and five, tallied 10 points, including one block, and was honored as match MVP. Projekt’s German opposite Linus Weber was by far the best scorer of the game with 31 points to his name, including two aces and two blocks. With five stuffs apiece, his compatriot Tobias Brand and middle Jakub Kochanowski finished with 14 and 11 points, respectively, for the visitors. Outside Artur Szalpuk also put away 11.

The best-of-five championship playoff between Aluron and BOGDANKA will probably get underway on Tuesday, April 29, but the exact time is yet to be confirmed. The bronze medal series between Jastrzebski Wegiel and Projekt, also in a best-of-five format, is currently set to serve off on Wednesday.

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