Big wins keep Barkom and Chelm on track to survival in PlusLiga

Barkom Kazhany Lviv and InPost ChKS Chelm scored important wins as the 24^th leg in the men’s volleyball PlusLiga unfolded in Poland, and are now very close to securing their survival in the league for next season, making table trailers Steam Hemarpol Politechnika Czestochowa looking more and more doomed to relegation.

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In the leg opener on Thursday, Barkom Kazhany Lviv stunned last year’s regular season winners JSW Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj with a 3-1 (18-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-23) road win. Australian outside hitter Lorenzo Pope led the Ukrainian team with a match-high 17 points and earned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Barkom Kazhany are third from the bottom in the current standings, in 12^th place on 23 points and an 8-14 win-loss record, or nine points clear of Steam with four games to go. Jastrzebski Wegiel are seventh on 33 and 12-10.

In the leg’s closing match on Monday evening, PlusLiga rookies InPost ChKS Chelm celebrated a 3-1 (27-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-23) home victory over Slepsk Malow Suwalki and also improved to 23 points. With one game played more than their direct rivals for salvation, Chelm stand on 7-16 in 13^th place. Slepsk Malow are a bit closer to safety, in 10^th place on 25 and 7-16. Chelm’s outside hitter and match MVP Pawel Rusin contributed 16 points to his team’s success. His Iranian cross-court teammate Amirhossein Esfandiar produced a team-high 18 points, while the visitors’ opposite Bartosz Filipiak emerged as the best scorer of the match with 22 points, including two aces and two kill blocks.

Steam Hemarpol Politechnika Czestochowa failed to improve their situation at the bottom of the standings after suffering a 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-20, 33-31) home defeat at the hands of Asseco Resovia Rzeszow on Saturday. The team from Czestochowa is stuck in 14^th place on 16 and 4-18. Meanwhile, Resovia climbed to fourth place on 40 and 14-8. Opposite Karol Butryn was on fire with a solid 33 points for the winners, delivering four aces, two kill blocks and a 64% success rate in attack, thus emerging as the best scorer and the MVP of the match.

Another team that is not mathematically safe from relegation yet, Cuprum Stilon Gorzow Wielkopolski, put up a five-set battle upon their visit to defending champions BOGDANKA LUK Lublin on Saturday before folding with a tight 3-2 (30-28, 23-25, 28-30, 25-23, 15-11) loss. A spectacular scoring race between BOGDANKA’s outside Wilfredo Leon and Cuprum Stilon’s Brazilian opposite Chizoba Neves ended tied at 32 points apiece and shared top scorer honors. Leon shined with six aces and a kill block, claiming the MVP nomination, while Chizoba put away four aces and two blocks. Lublin are running in third place on 44 and 15-7. Cuprum Stilon are 11^th on 24 and 7-15.

In another five-set duel earlier on Saturday, last season’s bronze medalists PGE Projekt Warsaw battled it out for a 3-2 (25-18, 20-25, 20-25, 27-25, 15-10) away victory over ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle and improved to 48 and 17-6 in second place. ZAKSA are just below the cut-off line for the playoffs, in ninth place on 30 and 9-13. Projekt’s outside Bartosz Bednorz hammered five aces and raised four kill blocks to take the MVP award and share the top scorer honors with ZAKSA’s Italian international opposite Kamil Rychlicki with 21 points each.

Also on Saturday, table leaders Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie scored an important home win over trending Indykpol AZS Olsztyn. The FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship bronze medalists celebrated a 3-1 (24-26, 25-12, 25-22, 25-23) comeback victory with a match-high 23 points, including two aces and two blocks, from opposite and MVP Bartlomiej Boladz. Aluron top the standings on 53 and 18-5, while Indykpol dropped to fifth place on 39 and 14-8.

In Sunday’s only match, PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow put together a 3-1 (31-33, 25-23, 25-17, 25-20) home win over Energa Trefl Gdansk to improve to 33 and 11-9 in eighth place, at the edge of the playoff zone, with two games in hand. Trefl are sixth on 34 and 12-10. French outside Antoine Pothron led the winners with 19 points, while his German counterpart Tobias Brand led Trefl with a match-high 21. The MVP honors went to SKRA’s setter and captain Grzegorz Lomacz.

PlusLiga action resumes on Wednesday, March 4, with the delayed last fixture of the 15^th leg, between Indykpol and SKRA.

PlusLiga 2025-2026 upcoming match:
Mar 04, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): Indykpol AZS Olsztyn v PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow

PlusLiga 2025-2026 schedule and results

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