After Wilfredo left Leona from the Italian team Sir Safety Perugia It was expected that the Polish national team attacker would play in the PlusLiga, but the final direction could be surprising. He did not go to any of the Polish giants volleyballand to Bogdanka LUK Lublinwho intends to cause confusion at the top.
Leon's debut in a new club
When Leon stepped onto the court in Lublin's Globus Hall named after Tomasz Wójtowicz, the fans went wild and applauded the volleyball player standing up. It happened at the end of the first set. He entered with an unfavorable score, 20:21 from Bogdanka's perspective. He spent only a moment on the court in this set, mainly to show off.
In the second set he scored his first point in the PlusLiga, attacked from the left side and made it 22:23. He helped Bogdanka win the set 25:23 and equalize the match 1:1.
Leon was a key player for the Lublin team in the fourth set, when they had to make up for a seven-point deficit and chase from 7:14. His very strong serve and effectiveness at the net came in handy, because they managed to almost completely break Trefl Gdańsk's reception. However, the guests were lucky at the end of the set and made it to a tie-break.
In the decisive set, Leon had to do his own thing, but his colleagues from Lublin shifted into a higher gear, made fewer mistakes than their rivals and tipped the scales in their favor.
A fierce, five-set battle
Bogdanka was the favourite to win the match, but she had trouble finding her rhythm in the first set. Individual mistakes and problems with the Gdańsk team's serve meant that the guests were able to maintain a modest advantage for most of the game until the end. Trefl won the first set 25:23.
But in the second set the roles were reversed, it was Bogdanka who worked better in the service area and at the net. She played particularly well with the block. She won the second set 25:23 and tied it.
The third set was played with a clear indication of the hosts, who continued their good performance from the previous game. Gdańsk could not overcome their weakness in the offensive and improve their reception. Lublin had everything under control and won the set 25:19. Thanks to this, they were closer to winning.
The fourth set was another twist in this match. Gdańsk dominated in every element, but had a big problem with carrying a big advantage to the end. After entrance Leon's opponent was unpredictable, had much more possibilities in the attack and thanks to that reduced the losses. The hosts fought to play on advantage, but in the last action of the set we had a controversy. Jakub Jarosz touched the net, but behind the antenna. The judges, after watching the replays, decided that since it was outside the playing area, it cannot be counted as a mistake. Trefl won the set 25:23 and led to a tie-break.
The decisive set was played from the beginning with Bogdanka in favor, who dominated the net, her block worked great with Leon's support. Gdańsk could not find a way to break down the opponents' defense and was forced to chase the result. However, the hosts were one step ahead throughout the tie-break. In the last action of the match, Leon scored a point and it was he who secured the victory 15:10 in the fifth set, and in the whole match 3:2.
Both of Bogdanka's matches this season ended in a tie-break victory. Last week, they managed to beat Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie 3-2 away.
Wilfredo Leon scored seven points in the match against Trefl Gdańsk – five from attack and two from block, he had 55 percent positive reception.