PlusLiga finalists to emerge on Saturday

The crucial third leg of the best-of-three PlusLiga semifinals in Poland will point out the two finalists on Saturday. With both semifinals tied at one win each, it is decision time when Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj host BOGDANKA LUK Lublin and PGE Projekt Warsaw welcome Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie. Meanwhile, ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle beat Asseco Resovia Rzeszow for the fifth place in the season’s final standings on Thursday and secured passage to next season’s European Cups.

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Semifinal: Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj v BOGDANKA LUK Lublin

Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj will play host to BOGDANKA LUK Lublin for the crucial third match of their semifinal playoff at the HWS hall on Saturday at 14:45 local time (12:45 UTC), after the two sides traded away victories in the first two games. Lublin took the lead in the series with a sensational 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-22) win at the home venue of the regular season winners, reigning national cup holders and defending PlusLiga champions last Friday. Recovering from the surprise upset, Jastrzebski Wegiel “returned the favor” and beat the opponents at their home venue, also getting the job done in four sets, 3-1 (31-29, 15-25, 25-20, 25-22).

So this season alone, Jastrzebski Wegiel has already defeated BOGDANKA four times in the five matches played, pushing the all-time head-to-head record to 10-2 in wins. While the club from Jastrzebie-Zdroj is targeting its fourth PlusLiga title, their opponents from Lublin have never medaled in the PlusLiga, so another away win on Saturday would already mean a historic success for the club and it would be the second of the season, after they picked up Europe’s CEV Challenge Cup trophy last month.

Semifinal: PGE Projekt Warsaw v Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie

Two five-set duels between PGE Projekt Warsaw and Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie marked the first two games of their semifinal playoff. With the two sides trading home wins, the series was pushed to a deciding third match, set to take place at the COS Torwar in the Polish capital at 17:30 (15:30) on Saturday. In the first leg, Projekt celebrated a 3-2 (25-22, 25-20, 17-25, 19-25, 15-12) victory over Aluron, and in the second, Aluron got back at Projekt with a 3-2 (25-14, 25-22, 23-25, 22-25, 16-14) win.

The team from Zawiercie has now won three of the four encounters with Projekt this season, while the club from Warsaw leads the all-time head-to-head record by 12-10 in wins. Both sides have previously medaled in the PlusLiga – Projekt with two silver and two bronze medals and Aluron with one silver and one bronze – but they are both aiming at conquering a historic first-ever championship title.

Fifth-place playoff: ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle v Asseco Resovia Rzeszow

In the second match of the home-and-away playoff for the fifth place in the final PlusLiga standings, ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle managed their second victory over Asseco Resovia Rzeszow, this time at home with a furious comeback from two sets down towards a 3-2 (23-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-18, 16-14) turnaround.

ZAKSA’s star captain Bartosz Kurek led the team with 22 points, while outside hitters Rafal Szymura and Belgium’s Igor Grobelny added 16 and 11 points, respectively. Middle blocker Mateusz Poreba was selected Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the match. Resovia’s French opposite Stephen Boyer was the top scorer of the match with 23 points, while middle Karol Klos impressed with as many as seven kill blocks to his name.

With this win, ZAKSA secured the fifth place and a ticket to Europe’s third-tier club competition, the CEV Challenge Cup, next season.

PlusLiga 2024-2025 semifinal playoffs, 3rd leg:
Apr 26, 14:45 local (12:45 UTC): Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj v BOGDANKA LUK Lublin
Apr 26, 17:30 local (15:30 UTC): PGE Projekt Warsaw v Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie

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