Bogdanka LUK Lublin secured a very important away victory against PGE Projekt Warszawa with a score of 3:1 (31:29, 25:21, 19:25, 25:12) in the 25th-round derby of PlusLiga. Following this success, the team from Lublin accumulated 47 points and remains just one point away from second place in the standings.
The match in the capital lasted 134 minutes in front of 4680 spectators, and the most convincing was the fourth set, in which the visitors completely dominated and closed out the match with a decisive 25:12.
The captain of the Bulgarian national team, Alex Grozdanov, finished the match with 5 points (+3) – 1 ace, 3 blocks, and 59% attack efficiency.
The MVP of the match was Maciej Zajac.
Top scorers
Bogdanka LUK Lublin
Wilfredo Leon – 18 points
Malinowski – 14 points(entered for a longer period for the first time after injury)
Eno – 13 points
Maciej Zajac – 12 points
Alex Grozdanov – 5 points
Marcin Komenda – 4 points
PGE Projekt Warszawa
Bednorz – 14 points(top scorer in the match for the hosts)
Semeniuk – 10 points
Kochanowski – 9 points
Kevin Tillie – 9 points
Jakub Gomułka – 7 points
Weber - 6 points
The injured Sasak and Malinovsky, who are gradually returning to the rotation, appeared in the match.
Team statistics
PGE Project Warsaw / Bogdanka LUK Lublin
| Metric | Warsaw | Lublin |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 3 | 7 |
| Reception | 38% | 38% |
| Attack points | 49 | 49 |
| Blocks | 7 | 10 |
| Points from opponent errors | 28 | 34 |
The statistics show an extremely even battle in attack - both teams scored 49 points each. The difference comes down to two key elements - serve and block. Lublin recorded 7 aces against 3 and 10 blocks against 7, which directly brought additional points. In addition, the guests capitalized better on opponent errors (34 against 28), which explains why, after an even start, they managed to impose full control in the fourth set.
Standings - Top four in PlusLiga
| Place | Team | Points | Matches | Wins | Losses | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie | 56 | 24 | 19 | 5 | 62:25 |
| 2 | PGE Projekt Warszawa | 48 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 54:33 |
| 3 | Bogdanka LUK Lublin | 47 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 58:36 |
| 4 | Asseco Resovia Rzeszów | 43 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 52:34 |
The victory in the capital brings Bogdanka LUK Lublin very close to second place - just one point behind Warsaw, and with one game less. This means that in the penultimate round before the playoffs, the team can practically climb to second position if they maintain their pace.
The champions' next match is on March 13th - another big derby in PlusLiga, this time against the champion Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie. The clash is a direct duel between the league leader and the third-placed team, with the difference between Zawiercie and Lublin being only 9 points, but Lublin has one game less. This means that with a victory, Lublin can seriously approach the top and bring back the intrigue for first place before the playoffs.
