The main idea for creating the Summer Mens’ Volleyball League was to accelerate the return of league volleyball and to remind the fans of it. For this reason, it was decided earlier to speed up the launch of all competitions in the Polish Volleyball League and to start promoting it from July, through a tournament played on sand.
The PLS PreZero Grand Prix competition was held over three weekends (in three different locations). Sixteen PlusLiga teams were divided into 4 groups. Each team played in one qualification tournament and two best teams in each group took part in the final competition in Gdańsk.
The PLS Grand Prix was played on sand, with teams of 4 on each side. The rules of the game were identical as in indoor volleyball (however each of the 4 people could attack) and the court also had indoor dimensions. The games were played up to two sets won. The set went to the first team to win 25 points. The third set, if any, was a tie-break up to 15 points. The three tournaments were hosted by Kraków and Warsaw, while the final round was held in Gdańsk.
- The PLS Grand Prix is a good idea. By participating in this competition, you can build form, confront your rivals and represent your club. Fans returned to the sports venues for a new, interesting spectacle and a nice event to be a witness of. The Summer Grand Prix also allowed the newly-contracted players to present themselves to the wider public more quickly, because the matches were broadcast on Polsat TV – Luke Reynolds, the coach of Jastrzębski Węgiel, noted the advantages of the Summer League.
Jastrzębski Węgiel participated in the event with the team of: Jakub Popiwczak, Rafał Szymura, Stanisław Wawrzyńczyk, Michał Gierżot, Michał Szalacha and Szymon Biniek. In the group phase, our team played at the tournament in Kraków and had an excellent round at the venue of KS Wanda Kraków. In additional to attractive game of our team led by Popiwczak, the fans were also awed by the summer holiday-themed outfits designed especially for the Grand Prix.
The group rivals of our team in Kraków included: Aluron Virtu CMC Zawiercie, MKS Będzin, Stal Nysa. Jastrzębski Węgiel started its round with a 2:0 victory against Stal Nysa (25:16, 25:15). In the second game, our team faced the team from Zawiercie. Even though our rivals contracted four players specializing in a beach volleyball for this tournament, our Orange team also won a decisive victory in this game. Rafał Szymura was selected as the MVP of the game, receiving the trophy from Artur Wojtków, Vice-President of the JSW Management Board for Employment and Social Policy, the Strategic Partner of our club, who was present in Kraków.
At that moment, Jastrzębski Węgiel had already secured promotion to the finals in Gdańsk, irrespective of the result of our third game in the event with MKS Będzin. In the last group, the team from Zagłębie proved to be better than our team it became the second team to win promotion to the final round.
In the quarter final game in Gdańsk, according to the tournament lineup, our volleyball players faced Asseco Resovia Rzeszów. The team from Podkarpacie was a very demanding opponent and a tie-break was needed to determine a winner in this game. Fortunately, our volleyball team has shown its superiority in the decisive part of the game. The semi-final battle with GKS Katowice followed a similar scenario. In this case, the tie-break was not as nerve-racking, because of the excellent 7:0 opening of the tie-break. After such a brilliant series, our opponent was unable to keep the pace with our team. Ultimately our team prevailed 15:6, winning the promotion to the final of the Summer Grand Prix. In the final, after an outstanding performance, our team triumphed over PGE Skra Bełchatów 2:0 and won the first historic title in the Summer Grand Prix.
