The third round of the Polish men's volleyball first division, Plusliga, has concluded. Rubin, which includes Japanese national team setter Seita Sekita, played against Gdansk, who placed 6th last season, away from home and lost 0-3 in straight sets.
Rubin had been on a two-game losing streak since the start of the match. Wanting to somehow get a win, they faced Gdansk, who also had two straight losses. Sekita started the match on the reserves. In the first set, Gdansk was leading but the score was not evenly matched. Rubin broke down their opponents with their serves and tied the score in the final stages, but Gdansk's Reichert (Germany), who was brought in at that time, played well and took the first set. Gdansk was trailing in points from the start of the second set, and setter Sekita was brought in to try to turn the tide. However, the attackers' spike mistakes and points lost due to blocks did not stop, and combination mistakes also led to Rubin self-destructing. This bad mood continued into the third set, and Rubin ended up losing the second and third sets by a large margin and losing in straight sets.
The MVPs of the day were Gdansk's setter Kampa (Germany) and 38-year-old captain Wladzły (Poland).
It's tough, but I think the match against Gdansk was the worst of the last three matches. Their attacks were particularly bad, with a success rate of 35%, which is quite low for a men's team, and about one-third of those were due to mistakes or opponent blocks. Therefore, their attack effectiveness rate was 11%, which is probably the worst in the league this season. This number is really bad considering that their serve reception was not bad. There were also many combination mistakes, so I'm worried that the attacker and setter are not communicating well. If Sekita doesn't gain the trust of his teammates and the coach quickly, the situation will become even more difficult. Their next opponent, Suwałki, is a mid- to lower-ranked opponent, so I hope they can get a win and get the momentum going.
In another match, last season's third-placed team, Warsaw, faced off against No. 1 Jastrziebuski Wenger, with Warsaw winning the fourth and fifth sets after a deuce. It looked as though Jastrziebuski Wenger had already won the fourth set, but Warsaw's challenge was successful and they managed to hang on for decisive victory. De Haro (Spain), the setter who came in midway through the second set, made a big contribution to the comeback victory by changing the flow of the match with an aggressive setting that made good use of the center. It would have been great if Sekita could have performed as well as he did... With this, Warsaw has now won three matches in a row since the start of the season. In addition, Zaksa, Szkla, and Zabierce have also won three matches in a row since the start of the season.
Setter De Aro of Warsaw
Plusliga Round 3 Results
Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle - LUK Lublin 3 - 0
Projekt Warszawa - Jastrzębski Węgiel 3 - 2
PGE Skra Bełchatów - Stal Nysa 3 - 2
Asseco Resovia Rzeszów - Cerrad Enea Czarni Radom 3-0
Trefl Gdańsk - Cuprum Lubin(Makoto Sekida) 3 - 0
Ślepsk Malow Suwałki - Indykpol AZS Olsztyn 0 - 3
Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie - GKS Katowice 3 - 1
Standings
9 3-0 9/0 Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle
9 3-0 9/3 Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie
8 3-0 9/3 Project Warszawa
7 3-0 9/5 PGE Skra Bełchatów
7 2-1 8/4 Jastrzębski Węgiel
6 3-2 6/3 Asseco Resovia Rzeszów
5 3-2 7/5 GKS Katowice
4 1-2 6/6 Trefl Gdansk
3 1-2 5/6 Indykpol AZS Olsztyn
3 1-2 4/6 Ślepsk Malow Suwałki
1 0-3 2/9 Stal Nysa
0 0-3 2/9 Cuprum Lubin(Makoto Sekida)
0 0-3 1/9 LUK Lublin
0 0-3 0/9 Cerrad Enea Czarni Radom
Round 4 Schedule (local time)
October 22nd (Fri)
20:30～ LUK Lublin - GKS Katowice
Saturday, October 23
14:45～ Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle - Projekt Warszawa
17:30～ Cerrad Enea Czarni Radom - Trefl Gdańsk
20:30～ Stal Nysa - Asseco Resovia Rzeszów
Sunday, October 24
14:45~ Jastrzębski Węgiel - PGE Skra Bełchatów
17:30～ Indykpol AZS Olsztyn - Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie
Monday, October 25th
20:30～ Cuprum Lubin(Seidai Sekida) - Ślepsk Malow Suwałki
https://www.plusliga.pl/
Photo: PLPS
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