The hosts had two main tasks for this match – to finally get the first victory in the renovated “Urania” hall, which Indicpol returned to on December 17, and to break the series of three defeats in a row. The visitors, who finished 2023 at the top of the PlusLiga, will be looking to extend their five-match winning streak and strengthen their position at the top of the table. However, they played weakened by the absence of their main playmaker, Ian Firley, who was replaced by Maciej Stepien.
1. Sincere confessions of Polish volleyball representatives! This is how they evaluated their game
The Indicpol volleyball players made difficult conditions for the Warsaw team from the beginning. In the first set, they did a great job blocking, including: they stopped project forward Bartłomiej Bołądź three times. However, the capital team also showed high quality. The good attitude of both teams resulted in a fiercely fought set that was decided by the dominant play. Manuel Armoy's powerful serve at 26:25 proved decisive – Artur Šalpuk failed to receive it and the Olsztyn team won 27:25.
In the second set, the Olsztyn team put the PlusLiga leader on the defensive and blocking played a key role for the home team again. In a short time, Shalpuk was stopped twice and Boladze once, and with Indicpol leading (11:4), project coach Piotr Graban asked for a time-out.
After the time-out, the team from Warsaw made up for part of the loss – Boladze played an ace, Yuri Semenyuk threw Cezar Sapinski in the middle and the hosts won by only three points (15:12). However, this is where the away team's chase ended. At the end of the set, Indicpol entered with a five-point advantage, and the hero of the last actions was Olsztyn's Brazilian attacker Alan Souza, who first finished the attack, and shortly after that he closed the game with a direct point. from Servi (25:19).
The beginning of the third set again belonged to coach Javier Weber's team, who played very effectively in attack, as well as well in blocking and defense. After Shalpuk's throw and blocking of Shimon Yakubishak on Bolaj, Indikpol advanced by four points (10:6). In the next minutes, he kept the same distance with his opponents and after another blocking on Bolaj, this time by Armoi, he scored five points (19:14). The guests could not change the fate of the game and the entire match. The set, like the previous two, ended with Kamil Shimendera's point service (25:19).
Thus, in the third match after returning to “Urania”, the Olsztyn players won their first victory (in the previous matches they lost 2:3 against Bogdanka LUK Lublin and 1:3 against PGE GiEK Skra Bełchatów) and ended the series of defeats. . For its part, the project suffered its second loss of the season, and its size may come as a surprise to many. The Warsaw side are still top of the table but they could lose their lead if Jastrzębski Wegiel beat Skra Belchatow in their last game on Tuesday.
Allan Souza was named the best player of the match.
Plusliga, 14th round
Indykpol AZS Olsztyn – Projekt Warszawa 3:0 (27:25, 25:19, 25:19)
Indicpol: Joshua Twaniga (2), Alan Souza (20), Moritz Karlicek (2), Kamil Schimendera (7), Shimon Jakubishak (9), Cezary Sapinski (7), Kuba Havriluk (libero) and Manuel Armoa (9), Nicholas Zerszen . , Jakub Majrzak.
design: Maciej Stepień (1), Bartłomiej Bołądź (2), Artur Šalpuk (11), Kevin Till (8), Andrzej Wrona (3), Yuri Semenyuk (2), Damian Wojtasek (libero) and Jakub Kowalczyk, Igor Grobelny (1) Taylor Averill (2).
GW, Polsat Sport