DevelopRes Rzeszów stands just one victory away from claiming their first-ever Polish Women's Tauron Liga championship, holding a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five finals series against ŁKS Commercecon Łódź. After four consecutive seasons of heartbreak in the finals, Rzeszów could finally break through at home on Tuesday evening.
The reigning Polish Cup champions have three opportunities to secure the decisive win, with the first chance coming Tuesday at 20:30 local time in front of their supporters in Rzeszów. This represents a potential watershed moment for the club that joined the Tauron Liga a decade ago and has experienced four straight finals defeats—three to LOTTO Chemik Police and most recently to Commercecon in the 2022-2023 season.
"We understand that the next step may be the most difficult one," acknowledged setter Katarzyna Wenerska. "But we'll be playing at home, the fans will be on our side and that makes a difference. I'm confident we're going to win gold."
Rzeszów's middle blockers have proven instrumental in building their series advantage. Polish national team standout Agnieszka Korneluk earned MVP honors in the opening match while contributing 33 points across both games. Meanwhile, 24-year-old Weronika Centka-Tietianiec has added 28 points and was named Best Player in the second contest.
According to Statbet analysis, DevelopRes has shown remarkable improvement in their blocking efficiency this season, which has been a critical factor in their current finals performance.
For Commercecon, the path forward is challenging but not impossible. As the only team to defeat DevelopRes in Polish domestic competition this season, they must recapture the form that led to regular season victories over their finals opponent.
"We played much better in the semifinals than we've been doing now, and we've been able to get out of difficult seasons this season, so I hope we can do it again to give ourselves a chance," said outside hitter Natalia Mędrzyk, who has been Commercecon's most consistent performer with double-digit scoring in both finals matches. "We'll need to significantly raise our level, and I hope we can find a way to do it."
Should Commercecon extend the series, match four would take place on April 26 in Łódź, with a potential deciding fifth contest scheduled for April 30 back in Rzeszów. However, Tuesday's encounter could see DevelopRes make history by finally securing their first championship since joining Poland's top volleyball division.
