Brilliant Sawicki leads Lublin to success in PlusLiga final opener

BOGDANKA LUK Lublin made a giant step towards the Polish PlusLiga title with a straight-set win at Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie in Wednesday’s opening match of the best-of-five championship playoff. Meanwhile, PGE Projekt Warsaw also stunned the still reigning champions of Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj with a shutout on the road in the first game of the best-of-five third-place series.

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Outside hitter Mikolaj Sawicki took charge in Lublin’s 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-21) victory over their opponents from Zawercie. He fired three aces, raised two kill blocks and hit 15 kills in attack at a 65% success rate to finish with a match-high 20 points and earn the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. His cross-court teammate Wilfredo Leon also chipped in with three serving points to finish with a total of 13 and match opposite Kewin Sasak’s total tally of 13 points, which included one ace and one kill block. Outside Bartosz Kwolek led the home team with 11 points, including two aces and two blocks. American opposite Kyle Ensing added another 10 for Aluron, including two blocks.

“Тhey had their moments and we had ours. We didn't use them and that made the difference. You know, a few balls in the first set, a few balls in the next... That's something we have to live with and we'll be better in the next match,” Aluron’s Portuguese setter Miguel Tavares told aluroncmc.pl. “It's not over until the last ball hits the floor. We keep our heads up and keep fighting. We just have to win and that's what we have to do in the next game.”

The second game of the first-place playoff is on Saturday, May 3, in Lublin.

A straight-set victory for the visiting team was registered in the first match of the bronze medal playoff too. On Wednesday, PGE Projekt Warsaw mastered a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-21) shutout of regular season winners, last year’s champions and recent Poland Cup winners Jastrzebski Wegiel in Jastrzebie-Zdroj to edge ahead in the best-of-five series. German opposite Linus Weber spearheaded the squad from the capital with a match-high 17 points. He hammered three aces, put away a kill block and added 13 points in swings at a 59% success rate to claim the MVP award. His Jastrzebski Wegiel counterpart Lukasz Kaczmarek was the only other player on the court to reach the double digits, with 11 points, including one block.

The next match of the third-place series is on Sunday, May 4, in Warsaw.

PlusLiga 2024-2025 first-place playoff, 2nd leg:
May 3, 14:45 local (12:45 UTC): BOGDANKA LUK Lublin v Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie

PlusLiga 2024-2025 third-place playoff, 2nd leg:
May 4, 20:30 local (18:30 UTC): PGE Projekt Warsaw v Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj

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