In an emotional ’klasyk’ of the Polish Men’s Volleyball Championship valid for Round 5 of the 2022-23 season, the home side of PGE Skra Bełchatów had to lay down their weapons before Asseco Resovia Rzeszów.
After the unsuccessful inauguration of the 2022–23 PlusLiga, Skra started to win both in the national league and in the CEV Cup. However, the fourth-ranked team of last season hosted the so-far unbeaten Resovia in the classic of Polish men’s volleyball between the two sides whose rivalry marked the country’s club volleyball in the last 20 years. And, at the end of this fifth-round encounter, which saw 22 aces combined, Resovia still remained unbeaten in PlusLiga.
There were many emotions in the match. Skra were leading 2-1 in sets, but after the tie-break, Resovia prevailed, above which in the charts is only Jastrzębski Węgiel. They also have 5-0, but unlike Resovia haven’t lost a single point so far. Jakub Bucki and American Torey DeFalco top-scored Resovia in the ’klasyk’ with 19 points apiece. The latter served 4 aces. The Serbian opposite, Aleksandar Atanasijević, scored 18 points for Skra. Mateusz Bieniek (71% attack; 10/14) served 5 aces, while Karol Kłos (71% attack; 10/14) and the Czech middle blocker, Lukáš Vašina, made 4 stuffs each.
After a brilliant start to the season (3-0), which included victories over PGE Skra Bełchatów and the defending champs, Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle, it seems that the players of Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie became too cocky. Whilst the defeat to Jastrzębski Węgiel a week ago, though in straight sets, can’t be considered a setback, losing to Indykpol AZS Olsztyn surely can.
The team commanded by a renowned Argentine expert, Javier Weber, prevailed over the ’Jurassic Knights’ in the tie-break and noted the third win in a row. Karol Butryn top-scored Olsztyn with 23 points. American Taylor Averill (83% attack; 10/12) set up 5 blocks, while the Dutch outside hitter, Robbert Andringa, served 4 aces. Serb Uroš Kovačević tallied 24 points for Aluron.
2022-23 PlusLiga – regular season, Round 5:
