Bulgarian national team captain Alex Grozdanov received an excellent gift for his 28th birthday. His Bogdanka LUK Lublin started with a victory in the quarterfinal playoffs of the Polish PlusLiga, after defeating Skra Bełchatów at home 3:0 (25:23, 25:22, 25:22) in the first match of the series.
However, the match was far from easy for the hosts. The guests from Bełchatów posed serious difficulties, and in every set, the intrigue was maintained until the final rallies. Bogdanka's players had to make mini-comebacks more than once to achieve the valuable success and take the lead in the series.
The most impressive comeback came already in the first set. At 23:23, Canadian middle blocker Finian McCarthy took responsibility at the decisive moment and with two consecutive aces, he ended the set 25:23, giving a psychological advantage to the team from Lublin.
Alex Grozdanov also made a solid contribution to the victory. The Bulgarian international finished the match with 6 points, an efficiency rating of +5, 2 successful blocks, and 44% attack efficiency.
The top scorer for the winners was star Wilfredo León with 13 points. Hilary Eno added 12, and Mateusz Malinowski contributed 10 points. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) award was earned by captain Marcin Komenda, who scored 2 points, including 1 block. An interesting moment occurred during the award ceremony when the setter came out alongside birthday boy Grozdanov.
For Skra Bełchatów, Alen Souza was the top scorer with 13 points. Bartłomiej Lemański finished with 12, and Daniel Chitigoi, son of former Bulgarian national player Radostina Rangelova, finished with 10 points.
Team Statistics
| Metric | Bogdanka LUK Lublin | Skra Bełchatów |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 4 | 3 |
| Positive Reception | 39% | 44% |
| Attacks (points) | 43 | 37 |
| Blocks | 8 | 7 |
| Opponent Errors | 20 | 20 |
Bogdanka won the match primarily through more effective attacking and slightly stronger serving. Although Skra had better reception (44% vs. 39%), this did not translate into enough attack points. The difference came from 6 more successful attacks and a slight advantage in blocking, which tipped the balance in favor of the hosts.
With this victory, Bogdanka LUK Lublin took the first step towards qualifying for the semifinals, but the match showed that the series against Skra Bełchatów will be far from easy.
Photo: plusliga.pl
