In a nail-biting first leg of the Polish Plus League semifinals held on April 19, 2025, Project Warsaw secured a hard-fought victory over Alurton Warta Zawiercie in a five-set thriller. The match featured two Ukrainian national team players on opposing sides, with Yuriy Semenyuk representing Warsaw and Yuriy Gladyr playing for Zawiercie.
The capital city squad started strong, claiming the first two sets 25:22 and 25:20, displaying confident volleyball from the outset. However, Alurton Warta Zawiercie refused to bow out easily, mounting an impressive comeback to level the match by winning the next two sets 25:17 and 25:19, respectively.
With everything to play for in the decisive fifth set, Project Warsaw regained their composure and ultimately prevailed 15:12, securing a crucial advantage in the semifinal tie.
Both Ukrainian players made contributions to their teams, with Semenyuk scoring 5 points in attack for Project Warsaw, while Gladyr added one point for Zawiercie's offensive efforts.
Coach Piotr Graban's Warsaw side featured a strong international lineup including Artur Szalpuk, Jakub Kochanowski, and Linus Weber among others. Meanwhile, Michal Winiarski's Zawiercie squad countered with talents like Miguel Tavares Rodriguez, Bartosz Kwolek, and American Aaron Russell.
According to Statbet, volleyball contests that extend to five sets often favor the team showing greater mental resilience in crucial moments, a quality Project Warsaw demonstrated in this semifinal opener.
The second leg of this semifinal clash is scheduled for April 23, when Project Warsaw will once again face Zawiercie with a spot in the Polish Plus League final at stake.
