Alex Grozdanov with an important contribution to the 3-0 rout over Zawiercie in the first final match, Sawicki MVP with 20 points
Bogdanka LUK Lublin took a significant step towards winning their historic first title in the Polish Volleyball PlusLiga! In the first final match, played away in Sosnowiec, the team featuring Bulgarian national player Alex Grozdanov and star Wilfredo Leon convincingly defeated Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie 3-0 (25:21, 25:22, 25:21).
With this victory, Lublin took a 1-0 lead in the final series. The series is played to three wins, meaning Bogdanka LUK Lublin needs two more victories to lift the championship trophy.
The final is historic for both teams, who reached this stage of the championship for the first time. Zawiercie, led by coach Michał Winiarski, was weakened in this match as opposite Karol Butryn was injured. Kyle Ensing started in his place, which necessitated taking outside hitter Aaron Russell out of the starting six due to a limit on the number of foreigners allowed on the court.
Despite some strong moments and initial leads by Zawiercie in individual sets, Bogdanka LUK Lublin, under the guidance of coach Massimo Botti, showed better play and efficiency.
🎯 In the third set, trailing by 5 points, Wilfredo Leon's serves and Lublin's blocks turned the tide, and an ace by McCarthy and an attack by Leon secured the final 3-0.
The hero of the match was outside hitter Mikołaj Sawicki, who was named MVP of the encounter. Sawicki finished with an impressive 20 points (3 aces, 2 blocks). Star Wilfredo Leon added 13 points (3 aces) to the victory.
Bulgarian middle blocker Alex Grozdanov also made an important contribution, finishing with 6 points (3 blocks).
The second final match will be played on Saturday, May 3rd, in Lublin, where Bogdanka LUK will have the opportunity to play in front of their home crowd.
It remains to be seen whether Zawiercie will quickly find a solution to their problems and respond in the next match.
