PlusLiga weekend offers four exciting five-setters

Four of the six games in the men’s PlusLiga in Poland were pushed to tie-breaker resolutions. In one of them, defending champions BOGDANKA LUK Lublin earned a hard-fought high-profile home victory over ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle. In another, PlusLiga rookies InPost ChKS Chelm celebrated their first win in the Polish elite.

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On Saturday afternoon, BOGDANKA LUK Lublin celebrated a 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 15-10) rollercoaster win over ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle in front of over 4,200 fans on the stands at the Globus. Opposite Kewin Sasak led the winners with 20 points. He spiked at a 62% success rate and raised two kill blocks. Bulgarian middle blocker Aleks Grozdanov put up an impressive seven kill blocks and added an ace to finish with 16 points, while the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award went to setter Marcin Komenda. Canadian outside Jackson Young, Cuban-born star striker Wilfredo Leon and Canadian middle Fynnian McCarthy also reached the double digits with 15, 14 and 10 points, respectively. ZAKSA’s Luxembourgish-Italian opposite Kamil Rychlicki emerged as the best scorer of the match with 27 points. After the weekend, Lublin occupy second place in the current standings on 5 points and a 2-0 win-loss record, while ZAKSA are in 10^th place on 1 and 0-1.

The weekend’s program was concluded with a five-set match between InPost ChKS Chelm and Cuprum Stilon Gorzow Wielkopolski on Sunday evening. The PlusLiga newcomers delighted the home fans at the MOSiR in Chelm with their historic first victory in the league. Outside hitter Pawel Rusin led the team to a 3-2 (14-25, 25-22, 25-22, 8-25, 15-13) win with 14 points, while Canadian setter Jay Blankenau claimed the MVP honors. Cuprum Stilon’s Brazilian opposite Chizoba Neves topped the charts with 31 points, including three aces and three blocks. Chelm, on 2 and 1-1, and Cuprum Stilon, on 1 and 0-1, stand seventh and eighth in the table, respectively.

Also on Sunday, Asseco Resovia Rzeszow achieved a 3-2 (25-19, 23-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-13) home win over Energa Trefl Gdansk in front of three and a half thousand fans on the stands and improved to 5 and 2-0 in fourth place, leaving Trefl in sixth on 3 and 1-1. Opposite Karol Butryn led Resovia with a team-high 24 points, including four blocks and two aces, and earned the MVP recognition. His Trefl counterpart Aliaksei Nasevich fired five aces and raised two kill blocks towards a match-high 31 points.

Yet another five-setter unfolded on Saturday, when Indykpol AZS Olsztyn upset their hosts PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow in the overtime of the tie-breaker with a 3-2 (21-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-19, 18-16) victory, coming back from a set down twice during the match. Indykpol’s German outside Moritz Karlitzek led the way with 25 points, including two aces and two blocks, and received the MVP award. The team from Olsztyn climbed to fifth place on 3 and 1-1, while SKRA are ninth on 1 and 0-1.

Last season’s silver medalists Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie failed to please their fans with a win in their new season opener at home on Saturday and lost to last season’s bronze medalists PGE Projekt Warsaw in straight sets. German opposite Linus Weber spiked at a 74% success rate and scored one serving and two blocking points to lead the squad from the capital to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-19) sweep with a match-high 17 points, claiming the MVP award. Projekt top the standings on a perfect record of 6 and 2-0, without a set lost. Aluron are second from the bottom, in 13^th place on 0 and 0-1.

After an epic third set, JSW Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj managed to close their home game against Slepsk Malow Suwalki on Sunday with a sweep. German middle blocker Anton Brehme contributed a team-high 14 points towards a 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 33-31) victory, spiking at a fantastic 92% success rate, and took the MVP honors. Slepsk Malow’s Bulgarian outside Asparuh Asparuhov was the best scorer of the game with 15 points, including three blocks and two aces. Jastrzebski Wegiel stand third on 5 and 2-0, while Slepsk Malow are 12^th on 0 and 0-2.

PlusLiga action will resume with three midweek games on Tuesday, October 28, and Wednesday, October 29, set to wrap up both the first and the second legs of the regular season.

PlusLiga 2025-2026 upcoming matches:
Oct 28, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): Barkom Kazhany Lviv v Steam Hemarpol Politechnika Czestochowa
Oct 29, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle v Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie
Oct 29, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Cuprum Stilon Gorzow Wielkopolski v PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow

PlusLiga 2025-2026 schedule and results

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