ZAKSA survive five-set scare from visiting Slepsk Malow

In the last of five midweek matches in the men’s volleyball PlusLiga in Poland, bottom-placed Slepsk Malow Suwalki were close to producing a sensational upset of their hosts ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle by winning the first two sets before their mighty opponents managed to reverse-sweep the game and avoid the defeat.

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On Thursday evening, ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle came back from two sets down against Slepsk Malow Suwalki and eventually pleased their home fans with a 3-2 (21-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-10) win in the last fixture of the eighth-leg program. Belgian outside hitter Igor Grobelny led ZAKSA with 19 points, including one ace and one kill block, and earned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Slepsk Malow’s opposite Bartosz Filipiak was the best scorer of the match with 21 points, also including one ace and one block. The team from Kedzierzyn-Kozle climbed two spots up the current standings, to seventh place on 13 points and a 4-5 win-loss record, while the squad from Suwalki remained stuck to the last place, 14^th, now on 5 and 1-8, and just a set won fewer than 13^th-placed Steam Hemarpol Politechnika Czestochowa.

Defending champions BOGDANKA LUK Lublin also jumped two positions up, to second place on 22 and 7-3, after a 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 27-29, 25-20) home victory over Energa Trefl Gdansk on Wednesday in another eighth-leg fixture. Trefl descended to eighth place on 12 and 5-4. Canadian outside Jackson Young impressed with six kill blocks and an ace towards a 16-point tally. His star cross-court teammate Wilfredo Leon contributed a team-high 19 points, including three blocks and claimed the MVP award. Their German counterpart Tobias Brand topped the match chart with 22 points, including two aces and two blocks, for Trefl.

Also on Wednesday evening, in a delayed match of the fifth leg, PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow delivered a 3-1 (28-26, 27-29, 28-26, 25-18) home victory over table leaders Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie and improved to fourth place on 21 and 7-2. Last season’s silver medalists and participants in the upcoming FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship Aluron, who have already played 12 matches since the start of the season, are still on top of the standings, on 24 and 8-4. SKRA’s opposite Arkadiusz Zakieta led the way with 22 points, including three blocks, and received the MVP honors, while French outside Antoine Pothron nailed five aces and two blocks towards a total contribution of 20 points towards the win.

Asseco Resovia Rzeszow also gained ground after Tuesday’s 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 26-24) sweep of their eighth-leg road game at InPost ChKS Chelm. They are up to fifth place on 20 and 7-2, while the PlusLiga rookies are down to 12^th on 6 and 2-7. Outside hitter and match MVP Artur Szalpuk spiked at a 92% success rate and put away an ace towards a match-high 12-point tally, sharing the top scorer honors with opposite Karol Butryn, who produced three aces and two blocks.

Also on Tuesday, in a delayed fourth-leg fixture, Cuprum Stilon Gorzow Wielkopolski came back from two sets down and battled it out for a nail-biting 3-2 (23-25, 22-25, 28-26, 25-17, 20-28) away win over Ukraine’s Barkom Kazhany Lviv in Elblag. The MVP award went to outside Kamil Kwasowski, who scored three aces and a block towards a 22-point total. Brazilian opposite Chizoba Neves was the best scorer of the team with 24 points, all in swings, while his counterpart Vasyl Tupchii was the best scorer of the match with 25 points, including two blocks, for Barkom Kazhany. The Ukrainian team is in 10^th place on 10 and 3-6, while Cuprum Stilon rose to 11^th on 7 and 2-8.

The seven 10^th-leg matches are coming up next on the PlusLiga program, from Friday, December 5, to Sunday, December 7.

PlusLiga 2025-2026 10th-leg schedule:
Dec 05, 20:00 local (19:00 UTC): InPost ChKS Chelm v Energa Trefl Gdansk
Dec 06, 12:30 local (11:30 UTC): Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie v Slepsk Malow Suwalki
Dec 06, 14:45 local (13:45 UTC): Steam Hemarpol Politechnika Czestochowa v PGE Projekt Warsaw
Dec 06, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): JSW Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj v Asseco Resovia Rzeszow
Dec 06, 20:00 local (19:00 UTC): BOGDANKA LUK Lublin v Indykpol AZS Olsztyn
Dec 07, 14:45 local (13:45 UTC): ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle v Cuprum Stilon Gorzow Wielkopolski
Dec 07, 20:00 local (19:00 UTC): PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow v Barkom Kazhany Lviv

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