PlusLiga’s biggest derby at the moment didn’t disappoint the fans’ expectations. After a five-set battle between the champions and the vice-champions of the Polish Men’s Volleyball Championship, with numerous twists and turns, the victory was earned by Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle.
We saw a typical match between the champions and the vice-champions of the PlusLiga. Everybody in Poland got used to the clashes between Jastrzębski Węgiel and Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle ending in a tie-break. It was no different in the 15th round. In the decisive set, the titleholders kept their cool. The ’Hawks’ failed to reclaim the lead in the table, which now belongs to Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie.
In the previous season, the two teams met each other 10 times, and the Kędzierzyn-Koźle side, who later even confirmed the title of the CEV Champions League winners, established a cruel H2H dominance with eight wins. This season, however, the cards have turned. Before the start of the 15th round, it was the Jastrzębie-Zdrój team that led PlusLiga since the start and, therefore, was the favorite of the clash of the giants, although they recently lost twice in PlusLiga (with today’s setback, they recorded their third defeat in the last four matches). Both teams suffer from a plague of injuries: Wiśniewski, Gladyr, and Toniutti are out. ZAKSA have similar issues: Hubert, Kaczmarek, and Stępień weren’t at the disposal of Tuomas Sammelvuo.
Bartłomiej Kluth was the main protagonist for ZAKSA with 25 points. Ukrainian Dmytro Pashytskyy recorded 4 blocks. The Frenchman Stéphen Boyer of Jastrzębski matched Kluth’s scoring output, while Boyer’s compatriot Trévor Clévenot made 6 blocks. Jakub Popiwczak had 73% reception (15 digs, 33% excellent).
2022-23 PlusLiga – regular season, Round 15:
