Also undefeated, DevelopRes are two points behind in second place
Published 07:57, 15 Oct 2024
Playing on the road, Budowlani took all three points against UNI Opole (Photo: UNI Opole)
The list of undefeated teams in the Tauron Liga was cut from four to two after the conclusion of the third leg of the regular season and sitting at the top of the standings in the Polish women’s national league is PGE Grot Budowlani Łódź.
The only team in the country to have secured all nine points in play, they are trailed by KS DevelopRes Rzeszów, who also triumphed in each of their first three matches, but needed two tie-breakers to do so, therefore appearing with seven points.
Budowlani’s third victory in the season came on Monday, when they went on the road to face seventh-placed UNI Opole and returned home with a solid three-set victory (25-17, 25-17, 25-22). A member of the Polish national team in their bronze-medal-winning campaign at the Volleyball Nations League 2023, outside hitter Paulina Damaske led the team with 21 points (20 kills, one block) and was selected as the match’s MVP.
Italian opposite Terry Enweonwu, who also reached double digits with 12 points (11 kills, one ace), is confident the team can continue to grow as the season progresses.
“Every new season brings challenges, but I feel that we’re developing some good chemistry and I like the energy I see on the court,” she said. “I believe this is a good start for us, but I don’t think we showed our full potential yet.”
On Saturday, DevelopRes also secured their third victory, but had to work harder to do it as they needed all five sets (22-25, 25-27, 25-21, 25-15, 15-9) to beat Supercup champions and Tauron Liga sixth-placed BKS BOSTIK Bielsko-Biała in front of their home fans.
Marrit Jasper and Sabrina Machado combined for 48 points, with the Dutch outside hitter tallying a match-high 25 (17 kills, five blocks, three aces) and the Brazilian opposite contributing 23 (22 kills, one block), the same amount as Bielsko-Biała’s outside hitter Julita Piasecka. Libero Aleksandra Szczygłowska was the match’s MVP.
“We knew it was going to be a very difficult match,” head coach Michał Masek reacted. “Bielsko is a really good team, they have tall players and are very strong with their offense, their blocking and their serves. We expected a difficult match and that’s what happened.”
The third leg of the Tauron Liga started on Thursday, when eighth-placed ITA TOOLS STAL Mielec topped defending champions Lotto Chemik Police, who rank tenth, 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 24-26, 26-24) with 23 points scored by opposite Oliwia Sieradzka.
On Saturday, third-placed ŁKS Commercecon Łódź secured their second victory in the season, overcoming 11th-placed Energa MKS Kalisz in straight sets (25-13, 25-12, 25-22). With 15 points, Slovenian outside hitter Lana Ščuka led all scorers.
Also on Saturday, #VolleyWrocław moved up to fifth place with a five-set (25-18, 18-25, 22-25, 25-13, 15-10) road victory over 13th-placed Sokół & Hagric Mogilno, powered by 24 points from opposite Wiktoria Kowalska. The leg was completed on Tuesday, when fourth-placed MOYA Radomka Radom made good use of their homecourt advantage to top ninth-placed Metalkas Pałac Bydgoszcz 3-1 (25-23, 25-23, 20-25, 25-17) – Bulgarian outside hitter Maria Yordanova stood out with 23 points.
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