The quarterfinals of the Puchalpolski (Polish Cup) took place on Tuesday, February 18th (local time). After a close match, the home team Warsaw defeated Zaksa Kędzierzynkośle (hereinafter Zaksa), whose player Krek was a member of Wolfdogs Nagoya until last season, 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 27-25, 25-22), and advanced to the Final 4 to be held in April.
I watched this match live.
Tickets were sold out, and the venue, the Trubal Hall in Warsaw, was filled with the excitement of around 5,000 volleyball fans.
In the first set, OP Krek's service aces and other breaks gave Zakza a 1-4 lead. After that, Zakza continued to score points, mainly from OP Krek, and widened the gap to 8-13. In the final stages, Warsaw closed the gap to 21-23 with OP Bołoncz's spikes, but his serve was a mistake at the end, and Zakza won the first set 22-25.
In the second set, OP Bołonczy scored consecutive spikes to give Warsaw a 9-5 lead. From there, OP Krek's spike and OH Grobelny's spike cut off the longest rally of the match, bringing Zakza back to 15-15. After that, both teams broke the game and the match went on to 22-22, but in the end, OP Krek's attack error made it 25-22 and Warsaw took the set back.
In the third set, Zakza made a series of mistakes early on, giving Warsaw a 4-2 lead. From there, both teams continued to score side-outs, leading to a score of 12-11, but at this point Zakza's OH Grobelny injured his leg and was replaced by OH Szymainski. The game continued to go back and forth, with Warsaw scoring with mid-range shots from MB Kochanowski and MB Semeniuk, and Zakza scoring mainly with OP Krek. OP Krek's spike put Zakza in the lead at 23-24, but an attack mistake allowed Warsaw to take the lead at 25-24. Finally, OH Szalbuk's service ace gave Warsaw the set, 27-25.
In the fourth set, there were long rallies from the beginning, but Warsaw took a 9-6 lead with breaks from OH Szabuk and other spikes. From there, OP Krek's spike and S Janusz's block brought Zakza to within one point at 14-13. However, MB Kochanowski's block and other efforts gave Warsaw a 20-16 lead again. MB Semeniuk's spike made it 25-22, and Warsaw won the set, beating Zakza 3-1.
Detailed match stats here:
https://www.plusliga.pl/ppcup/id/10/gid/120.html
In the first set, Warsaw was unable to serve, while Zakza played an almost perfect game thanks to their powerful serves and the offensive power of OP Krek. However, from the second set onwards, as Warsaw's serves started to come in, Warsaw's diverse attacks caused Zakza a lot of trouble.
The difference between the two teams was the performance of their middle blockers. Warsaw's MVP MB Semeniuk scored 12 points and MB Kochanowski scored 13 points for a total of 25 points, while Zaksa's MB Takfam scored 6 points and MB Poreba scored 4 points for a total of 10 points.
In addition to Warsaw's heavy use of quick kicks from S. Filrey, both mid-range players were also effective in blocking Zaksa's mid-range attacks.
Saksa would have liked to make substitutions to overcome this situation, but two middle blockers were injured and could not play, and there was no replacement. Also, OH Grobelny, who had been playing well during the game, was injured and had to leave the game, so it could be said that Saksa was crying out for injuries in the game.
I was especially heartbroken when Grobelny was injured, especially since I only interviewed him last week. I wish him a speedy recovery.
In the midst of all this, the captain, OP Krek, led the Zakusa team with 30 points, the most of both teams. In fact, he was also not on the bench in the previous game due to poor health, but on this day he showed a lion-hearted performance that showed no sign of having just recovered from his illness.
Especially up until the third set, they were almost unbeatable with their high attack efficiency, powerful serves, and high blocks. However, in the fourth set, they were caught by Warsaw's blocks multiple times, and made mistakes in important situations towards the end, which caused their performance to drop and they were unable to lead their team to victory.
While Warsaw was able to develop a variety of attacks, Zaksa was not able to stabilize not only the middle but also the outside hitter's attacks, and as a result, they had no choice but to rely on Krek. This was the deciding factor in the game.
Still, it was a great match with high-level rallies from start to finish, powerful spikes and serves, and plenty to see. The excitement in the stadium was amazing, and I was lucky to be there.
I have been to Warsaw many times and am friends with manager Grabban and OH Tille, so I really hope they will win the Polish Cup Final Four in April.
I wanted to interview Krek after the match, but after a loss, especially an important one, he has a faraway look in his eyes. At times like that, he only answers questions during live TV interviews. As usual, he interrupted the reporters and left the venue.
Photo: Magdalena Kudzia, author
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