Undefeated Budowlani and DevelopRes to clash on Thursday

The battle between PGE Grot Budowlani Łódź and KS DevelopRes Rzeszów for the top spot in the Tauron Liga standings will have an exciting and critical development on Thursday, when the teams meet in the first match of the sixth leg of the regular season in the Polish League.

The only two undefeated teams in the Tauron Liga after the first five legs, the two sides are battling neck and neck for first place in the standings. Because they won all their five matches 3-0 or 3-1, Budowlani are currently in first place with 15 points, two more than DevelopRes, who needed the tie-breaker to secure two of their five victories.

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Scheduled to start at 17:30 local time (15:30 GMT), the duel could change the current scenario in the Polish League. In order to pass their opponents, DevelopRes need a 3-0 or 3-1 victory, which would take them to 16 points. Budowlani can remain ahead of their rivals even with a 3-2 loss, but in that case, they could still be passed by third-placed ŁKS Commercecon Łódź, who have 13 points (four wins, one loss) and host UNI Opole on Saturday, at 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT).

With just one set dropped after five matches, Budowlani haven’t shown any weaknesses so far in the season. Outside hitter Karolina Drużkowska, the team’s top scorer with 57 points, Italian opposite Terry Enweonwu, who registered 54, and setter Alicja Grabka, the league’s third-best server with eight aces, are some of their standouts.

DevelopRes dropped two sets to MOYA Radomka Radom in their opening match and then again in the duel with BKS BOSTIK ZGO Bielsko-Biała in the third leg. Among their individual standouts are Brazilian opposite Sabrina Machado, the league’s second-best scorer with 97 points, outside hitters Elizabeth Vicet and Marrit Jasper, who rank second and fourth in the passing efficiency ranking with 58.33% and 56.52%, and middle blocker Agnieszka Korneluk, who registered ten blocks in a three-set match against #VolleyWrocław last weekend.

“The match in Łódź will be a very interesting one,” Vicet commented. “I’m sure there will be no lack of fight on our side and we’ll work very hard to get the win.”

The two teams have met 25 times in the Polish League since the 2014-2015 season and DevelopRes have the edge, coming out on top in 14 of those duels – the team from Rzeszów has even been more successful when playing in Łódź, with seven victories to five of their opponents. They also triumphed in the last eight duels, with the most recent Budowlani victory dating back to the 2020-2021 season.

Rescheduled match on Wednesday

Before the start of the sixth leg, on Wednesday, an anticipated match of the seventh leg, between MOYA Radomka Radom and ITA TOOLS STAL Mielec, will take place at 19:00 local time (17:00 GMT).

On Saturday, two duels will be held, with Lotto Chemik Police facing Metalkas Pałac Bydgoszcz at 12:30 local time (10:30 GMT) and Commercecon meeting UNI Opole at 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT).

Energa MKS Kalisz will then face Radomka on Sunday, at 20:30 local time (18:30 GMT), ahead of the last two matches of the sixth leg on Monday - #VolleyWrocław vs. Bielsko-Biała and Mielec vs. Sokół & Hagric Mogilno, at 20:30 local time (18:30 GMT).

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