Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie defeated Asseco Resovia Rzeszów 3-1 and took 1-0 lead in the PlusLiga Playoffs quarterfinals (best of 3). In the fourth set Jurassic Knights won despite they were losing 17-21. Uroš Kovačević became the MVP of the match with 27 points, including those which finished the first and third set.

The match started with a successful pipe attack by Facundo Conte. After a while, Uroš Kovačević added a difficult serve,and Maciej Muzaj hit the high ball far beyond the court. The guests also did not release their hand from behind the 9-metre line, firstly Jakub Kochanowski scored and then Klemen Čebulj twice (once despite the sacrificial intervention of Facu, who flew over the barrier and battered heavily) and it was Asseco Resovia who took the lead 6-5. There was a regular exchange of blows from both sides, so the lead changed every now and then. Our receivers had problems with Fabian Drzyzga’s serves, but after a while our setter, Miguel Tavares, repaid, Kovačević also made an ace and Aluron CMC Warta was in the lead again (13-12). Rafał Buszek entered for the back row, but Patryk Niemiec caused him some problems with his float, and once again Muzaj hit outside from the right wing and Jurassic Knights increased the lead to two points (18-16). Uroš was clearing the most difficult balls, but Conte was blocked by Muzaj and it was a draw again. At 22-22 Čebulj sent another powerful serve, the ball almost rubbed the ceiling after the reception, the guests played well in defense and finished the counterattack, although only after the video challenge – it turned out that the ball hit the outside edge of the sideline. The second time, however, the Slovene hit half the net. Facu was lucky this time, because the ball passed along the tape and the opponents did not manage to keep it in the game. This meant the first setball for the hosts, which, however, was defended by Muzaj. Kovačević showed magic once again, sending the ball into the unattended center of the court with overhand pass. Third time lucky – the difficult jump serve of Tavares came back to our side, Miłosz Zniszczoł precisely pass the ball to the Portuguese, who launched Uroš and he did not waste the opportunity and finished his spike from the left wing.

After the change of sides, the Jurassic Knights did not release their hand in the service field and it brought results very quickly. Dawid Konarski blocked Sam Deroo, Kovačević scored a break point by a pipe kill after a great defense from Tavares, he added an ace and successfully attacked again, which gave a 5-1 lead and forced Marcelo Mendez to take the first time out for Resovia. Fortune this time smiled on the guests and the ball ricocheted from the net fell right in front of Michał Żurek, which started the series of points, because after a while Uroš crashed into the Kozamernik block, and then the Slovenian outside hitter added one more ace, this time without the help of the net. As a result, it was 9-9, but the next actions were a show of the Niemiec-Kovačević duo. The first one served great and added an excellent set, and the Serb was again unstoppable. Even when Resovia players set up a tight block, the ball bounced off our outside hitter’s head and fell into their court. The yellow and greens, however, got stuck when Kochanovski entered the service field, not taking advantage of a few opportunities to score a point. Only after time out for Igor Kolakovic, at 16-16, the opponent’s middle blocker made a mistake. Our players jumped by two points for a moment, but Uroš ran out of luck this time, because the ball coming out after the block rubbed against him, giving the guests another draw. In the following actions, the Serbian unfortunately lost pace in the attack twice and it was Resovia who took the lead 23-21. But what is Facu Conte for? The Argentine finished two balls in a row, including a counterattack after a great rebound block from Zniszczoł on Kochanowski. However, Muzaj was equally effective on the other side, and Kochanowski once again made his mark with his service – Kozamernik used the free ball to finish the second set on the second occasion.

The next set started in the same way the previous one ended – Kochanowski again served too strong to keep the ball on our side, Kozamernik killed it and Asseco Resovia was the first to take the lead. The Slovenian middle blocker started the third set very well but the Jurassic Knights even better. Kovačević’s clever moves and Conte’s effective counterattacks led our team to 6-4. Tavares served his second ace, increasing the advantage by another point. Our team played very effectively on side out and were keeping the distance until Konarski ran into Kochanowski’s block. However, he repaid himself after a while, ending a long rally. During Paweł Zatorski’s situational set, the ball left his fingers with a lot of rotation, but the referee did not decide to use his whistle which made the Jurassic Fortress red hot, especially as a moment later after Čebulj’s attack, only the challenge proved that the ball was out. Our players kept our side out and additionally increased the point difference after Mateusz Malinowski’s serve, when Uroš finished the counterattack. This advantage was not let go by the yellow and greens, and the set was finished by none other than Kovačević.

After the break, the players of Asseco Resovia returned with renewed energy and the fourth set from the beginning was very even. Both teams either made mistakes on serve or scored confidently at side out. Uroš, who was amazing that day, ended a difficult ball in an acrobatic way and from that moment the adravtage of hosts started to increase. Kozamernik made a mistake in the attack for the first time, Tavares added an ace and the yellow-greens were leading 14-11. It seemed that they also won another action, but during the video challenge it turned out that they had touched the net earlier. Timo Tammemaa, who entered the court shortly before, began sending powerful blows from the serve. Our vreceivers could not cope with it and it was Resovia who took the two-point lead. The guests not only could not be stopped in the next few rallies, but also dig some balls in defense and then exchanged them for points by Kochanowski and Čebulj. As a result, their lead has grown to 21-17. But the Jurassic Knights never give up. The rivals’ mistake and then the rebound first and then the amazing block of Zniszczoł on Tammemaa reduced the losses only to a point. A draw 23-23 was achieved by Tavares’s serve after which the ball returned to our side and Kovačević spiked the ball block-out. Guests had their set balls, however. Tammemaa made a mistake with the first one and Uroš was successful in the attack with the second one. The third one never happened. Deroo received Zniszczoł’s tough float serve to the other side and Conte used it. Our middle blocker went to the service again, made it difficult for the opponents to receive one more time and Muzaj hit into the net from a difficult ball. The Jurassic Fortress exploded with joy. The MVP award went to Uroš Kovačević who scored 27 points.

Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie – Asseco Resovia Rzeszów 3:1 (27:25, 24:26, 25:20, 27:25)

Lineup: Tavares, Konarski, Conte, Kovačević, Zniszczoł, Niemiec, Żurek (L) and Malinowski, Orczyk

MVP: Uroš Kovačević

Stats

Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie Press Office