It's been a while, author. I have vague thoughts that I want to write, but I haven't been able to get my pen moving, so it's been about three months since my last post. I hope to be able to update regularly from now on.
This time, I would like to report on the match that I watched on April 23rd, the Polish League (Plus Liga) championship match between Zaksa Kędzierzyn-Koźle and Skra Bełchatów.
The Battlefield (Azoti Hall (Kenziejnkozire))
As expected, most of the people in the venue were local Zakusa fans, and the atmosphere was filled with excitement and anticipation as they waited for the moment of victory. Meanwhile, my friend who was watching the game with me was rooting for Skura, the team our favorite players belong to. Go Skura!
Starting Lineup
SAKSA: OP Konarski, WS Buszek, MB Bieniek, S Toniutti (France), WS De Loo (Belgium), MB Wiśniewski, L Zatorski
Skura: OP Vlazuli, WS Kulek, MB Klos, S Uriarte (Argentina), WS Penchev (Bulgaria), MB Lisinac (Serbia), L Piechowski
Set 1
In the first set, both teams were stiff and made many mistakes. Even so, until the middle of the game, Zaksa, who was well distributed by Toniutti, was in the lead, and Skura was catching up, and it was a see-saw game. However, when Skura was behind by one point at 20-19, Lisinac (my friend's favorite) continued to serve well, scoring four consecutive points (one of which was a service ace) to turn the game around to 20-23 (my friend was very excited). After Zaksa got one point back, Captain Vlazwi (my favorite) spiked and got a service ace, and Skura won the first set 21-25 (my friend was very excited).
Vlazuli's serve
Set 2
The second set was also a close match with no more than a two-point difference until the middle of the match, just like the first set. From there, it was Skura who took the lead. Penchev and Lisinac attacked with serves, and Kurek and Vlazwi responded to them, narrowing the gap to 13-18, a mere five points. If you think, "Skura has already won this set, can we go 3-0?", you are wrong. Then Derow went into a winning streak, scoring spike after spike, and before you know it, the score was tied at 20-20. After that, Zaksa Konarski's attack and service ace made it 24-21, and Skura held on to 23 points with Penchev's serve, but couldn't get the last point, and in the end, Bieniek's quick hit made it 25-23, and Zaksa took the second set.
The second set
Third set
If Zakusa won this set, they would win the match due to the points, so Skura had no choice but to face the third set with no hope of recovery. However, from the beginning of the third set, Zakusa's sidemen were active and widened the score difference to 7-3. However, Skura's sidemen caught up and the score became 8-8, and it was a see-saw game from there. However, this time it was Zakusa who was in the lead again. As someone who was rooting for Skura, it seemed like Skura was working hard to get one point, while Zakusa was easily getting one point (in fact, the Zakusa players were also working very hard), and while the break was far away and I was in a very difficult state of mind, I also felt happy to be able to watch such a good match live. In the midst of this, from the 22-21 scene, two consecutive blocks by Lisinac (my friend's favorite) and Vlazwi (my favorite) came out (both were very excited) and they succeeded in turning the game around to 22-23! After that, Vlazwy's spike point, which was a wasteful touch of the net, made it 23-24 and Scura's set point. However, in the next rally, Wiśniewski's quick shot made it 24-24 (Toniutti was amazing, being able to make a quick shot in this situation). After that, it was already tense lol. Vlazwy's spike didn't go in easily, and Zaksa's Konarski scored first. "Oh, 26-25, bad, Vlazwy, please score!"...block. 27-25. Zaksa won, and Zaksa was confirmed as second place.
Shortly after Zakusa's victory
Fourth set
Both teams were playing with reserve players. I was watching but not watching. I was spacing out. I didn't care. 25-18. The result was 3-1 and Zakusa won the game.
Overall
Even before Szkla missed out on the championship, it was a good match, so it was really disappointing that it ended in three sets. I wanted to see a more serious match between the two teams. It was a nearly even match, but if I had to pick one thing that determined the outcome, I think it was the difference in the liberos. Saksa's libero Zatorski has plenty of experience with the national team, and he seemed to have been able to hold the team together well as the center of defense. On the other hand, Szkla's libero Piechowski is still young at 21 years old, and seemed to be somewhat reserved with the other members (perhaps because of this, there were several "matchmaking" sessions between him and other players during the match). This match made me realize that in high-level matches, the libero's communication skills are really important. As a result, unfortunately I wasn't able to see the team I was rooting for win, but it was really fun to be able to watch the Polish League championship match live! Volleyball was the best after all!!!
The award ceremony
English 
Japanese