Big games on Friday highlight PlusLiga “weekend”

The 25^th leg of the PlusLiga regular season serves off on Thursday, February 13, with ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle hosting relegation-threatened PSG Stal Nysa, and concludes on Monday, February 17. The two most anticipated games of the “weekend”, between top-eight teams, are scheduled on Friday, when PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow welcome Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, and Steam Hemarpol Norwid Czestochowa entertain PGE Projekt Warsaw.

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PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow are riding the wave of a three-match winning streak, crowned by a super upset of defending champions and table leaders Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj on the road last Sunday that has lifted them to seventh place in the current standings, on 40 points and a 13-11 win-loss record.

Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie are also enjoying the momentum of three consecutive victories in the PlusLiga, a winning run to which they also added a CEV Champions League shutout of Italy’s Allianz Milan. They are second in the PlusLiga table on 58 and 19-5, just two points behind Jastrzebski Wegiel. The club announced a contract extension of their star middle blocker Mateusz Bieniek just a couple of days before their encounter with his previous club SKRA.

Aluron are on a seven-game winning streak in the head-to-head series with SKRA and that run includes the clean sweep of their home encounter with the rivals from Belchatow in November’s 10^th leg. The two clubs have met 19 times so far with SKRA claiming six wins, the most recent one dating back to May 2022. Friday’s match at the Energia hall starts at 17:30 local time (16:30 UCT).

Steam Hemarpol Norwid Czestochowa, on the other hand, have suffered three consecutive defeats in the PlusLiga, including setbacks against teams from the relegation zone like Barkom Kazhany Lviv and, most recently, GKS Katowice, and have dropped to eighth place in the standings, hanging on to the edge of the playoff zone on 37 and 13-11. Unlike them, their next opponents PGE Projekt Warsaw have won their last three matches, including one in the Champions League and last Friday’s five-setter at strong rival BOGDANKA LUK Lublin. The squad from the Polish capital stands in third place on 54 and 19-5.

Norwid host Projekt at the Czestochowa sports hall on Friday evening at 20:30 (19:30). It will be only the fourth meeting between the two clubs. Projekt won both fixtures last season, but this season Norwid handed them a four-set upset in Warsaw.

ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle and PSG Stal Nysa will open the leg on Thursday at 17:30 (16:30). The hosts have been gradually climbing up the table and are looking to further extend a seven-match winning streak that has lifted them to fourth place on 50 and 17-6 with a game in hand. Stal are under an imminent threat of relegation as they stand just two points above the red line, in 13^th place on 21 and 6-18. When ZAKSA visited Nysa in the fall, they claimed a four-set win.

Saturday’s PlusLiga competition programme opens at 12:30 (11:30) with Slepsk Malow Suwalki hosting Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj. Slepsk Malow are the first team below the cut-off for the playoffs, four points away, on 33 and 12-12. The defending champs stand on top of the table on 60 and 19-5. In November’s fixture between the two teams, the visitors from Suwalki managed to take one set.

On Saturday evening at 20:30 (19:30), Indykpol AZS Olsztyn will entertain GKS Katowice in an attempt to get closer to the playoff zone. They are currently in 10^th place on 31 and 9-14 with a game in hand. GKS are even more in need of points in their quest for survival. They will be looking to get back at Indykpol for the four-set loss they suffered at home in November in order to improve on their 12 and 4-20, which places them second from the bottom, in 15^th place.

Similarly, Nowak-Mosty MKS Bedzin, who are now at the very bottom on 12 and 3-21, are in desperate need of points. However, they face a tough challenge, hosting BOGDANKA LUK Lublin, who are in fifth place on 48 and 16-8. Their first match this season in Lublin ended 3-1 BOGDANKA’s way. The second encounter is on Sunday at 18:00 (17:00).

Two and a half hours later, the game between Cuprum Stilon Gorzow Wielkopolski and Asseco Resovia Rzeszow will serve off. Hosts Cuprum Stilon are in a “comfortable” 12^th place on 27 and 11-13, relatively far from both a risk from relegation and a chance for the playoffs. Resovia, however, will be looking for redemption after the five-set loss they suffered at home to Cuprum Stilon in November. They are running in sixth place on 43 and 13-11.

The last match of the leg will be played on Monday at 17:30 (16:30). Trefl Gdansk will welcome Ukraine’s Barkom Kazhany Lviv after suffering a five-set defeat in the away game in November. The team from Gdansk is also in its own “comfort zone”, 11^th place on 28 and 9-15, but Barkom Kazhany will be fighting for points much needed for escaping from the relegation zone. The Ukrainian team is currently on top of it, but two points below the red line, in 14^th place on 19 and 7-17.

PlusLiga 2024-2025 25th leg:
Feb 13, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle v PSG Stal Nysa
Feb 14, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): PGE GiEK SKRA Belchatow v Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie
Feb 14, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Steam Hemarpol Norwid Czestochowa v PGE Projekt Warsaw
Feb 15, 12:30 local (11:30 UTC): Slepsk Malow Suwalki v Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj
Feb 15, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Indykpol AZS Olsztyn v GKS Katowice
Feb 16, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Nowak-Mosty MKS Bedzin v BOGDANKA LUK Lublin
Feb 16, 20:30 local (19:30 UTC): Cuprum Stilon Gorzow Wielkopolski v Asseco Resovia Rzeszow
Feb 17, 17:30 local (16:30 UTC): Trefl Gdansk v Barkom Kazhany Lviv

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