The captain of the Bulgarian national team, Alex Grozdanov, and Bogdanka LUK (Lublin) continue without losing a set in the Polish PlusLiga. The vice-champions defeated Energa Trefl (Gdańsk) at home with a score of 3:0 (25:22, 25:22, 25:21) in the second round of the championship, four days before the Polish Supercup match.
Grozdanov started as a starter and scored 9 points – 6 from attack, 2 from block, and 1 directly from serve. The Bulgarian middle blocker finished with 60% success rate in attack (6 of 10), without a single error and without his attack being stopped by the opponent's block. His efficiency rating was +7.
The national player also served the most among his teammates – 16, making only two errors.
Despite the categorical result, the victory did not come easily for the hosts. In the first set, Trefl led 19:15, but Bogdanka improved its blocking game and achieved a comeback for 25:22.
In the second part, Stefan Antiga's team managed to maintain the initiative and won again with 25:22.
The third set offered the biggest swings. Bogdanka led 13:4, but the guests gradually narrowed the gap to 18:17. At the decisive moment, Wilfredo Leon first successfully completed an attack, and then served an ace to restore the three-point lead. The last point in the match was scored by Japanese national player Ran Takahashi.
Leon was the top scorer for the winners with 17 points and received the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Mousse Gueye added 12 points, an impressive 7 of which came from blocks. For the guests, Aliaksei Nasevich scored 19 points.
Bogdanka had a clear superiority in blocking – 12:4, while the attack success rate of both teams was equal – 47%.
"The team from Gdańsk played excellently in the first set, but we also have enough energy and qualities to show our best volleyball at the important moment," commented Kevin Sasak to Polsat Sport.
"We want to start playing as we can as quickly as possible. We know we have a long way to go, but we already have reasons to be happy," said Leon.
For Grozdanov, this was his second consecutive strong match. In the 3:0 victory over ZAKSA in the first round, he recorded 11 points, including 5 from blocks, and was chosen as MVP. Thus, the Bulgarian now has 20 points and 7 successful blocks since the start of the season.
The next challenge for Bogdanka is even more serious. On Sunday, October 25, at 4:00 PM Bulgarian time, Stefan Antiga's team will face Aluron CMC Warta (Zawiercie) in Częstochowa in a match for the Polish Supercup.
"The Supercup is certainly an important trophy. We want to show a good game, defend it, and build confidence for the rest of the season," said Sasak.
The match against Warta will be the first major test for Bogdanka in the new campaign, and Grozdanov will have the opportunity to add another accolade to his collection.