Jastrzębski Węgiel end the curse and win the Polish Cup

JSW Jastrzębski Węgiel’s wait to lift the Polish Cup again ended on Sunday, as, 15 years after their first victory, the team triumphed in the 2024-2025 edition of the tournament in Kraków, ending a series of five consecutive campaigns that saw them finish in second place.

The tournament’s gold medal match took 14,157 fans to the Tauron Arena, setting a new attendance record for club tournaments in the country, and saw Jastrzębski Węgiel defeat last year’s winners Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie 3-1 (18-25, 25-22, 25-22, 30-28) to take the title.

• Watch the Polish Cup Finals replays on VBTV.

The winners of the last two editions of the Polish PlusLiga, Jastrzębski Węgiel also appeared in the gold medal match of the CEV Champions League in the last two seasons, but the Polish Cup continued to be a challenge for them.

After winning the tournament for the first time in 2009-2010, the team returned to the final on seven occasions but lost all of them, including the last five. Their opponents on Sunday, Aluron had denied them the title in their most recent attempt, in 2023-2024.

“I don’t know if that was a curse or not, but I was thinking that if we didn’t win it this time, I’d probably set a new record for the most losses in the Polish Cup final,” said libero Jakub Popiwczak, who has been with the team since 2012-2013 and lost six finals before winning on Sunday. “We faced so many negative feelings over the last years, and I’m incredibly happy that we finally managed to do it and to turn that page.”

French Olympic champion outside hitter Timothée Carle led Jastrzębski Węgiel in the gold medal match, scoring a match-high 22 points (20 kills, one block, one ace) and converting the final two points of the match. Polish national team outside hitter Tomasz Fornal produced 15 (13 kills, two blocks) and received the tournament’s MVP award.

“This weekend was such a great display of Polish volleyball, with the stands packed and four great teams fighting on the court,” opposite Łukasz Kaczmarek said. “I was very emotional after the final because this was my fifth Polish Cup title. I was on the other side of the net on most of the finals the team lost, and I’m really proud of the guys for winning it this time. It’s really a unique and special feeling.”

Aluron had opposite Karon Butryn, with 19 points (15 kills, two blocks, two aces), and outside hitter Bartosz Kwolek, with 18 (17 kills, one block), as their most productive players.

Next weekend, the four teams that competed in the Polish Cup Finals will start the PlusLiga semifinals, with Jastrzębski Węgiel facing BOGDANKA LUK Lublin on Friday and Aluron meeting PGE Projekt Warsaw on Saturday.

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