Nikola Grbic saw this performance with his own eyes! Thriller for the inauguration of PlusLiga
Energa Trefl Gdańsk with a successful inauguration of the new season of PlusLiga. In the first match of the 2025/26 campaign, the team from Gdańsk defeated Barkom Każany Lviv after a tie-break.
As is usually the case with the inauguration of the season, it is never entirely certain how the teams will perform in their first official appearances. There were similar question marks in the context of the competition in Ergo Arena on the border of Gdańsk and Sopot. Ultimately, however, despite the need to chase from 0:1 and 1:2 in sets, the hosts, i.e. Energa Trefl Gdańsk, won 3:2 in the clash with Barkom Każany Lviv.
PlusLiga: Nikola Grbic saw the representative’s performance. An important success for Energa Trefl
In the 2024/25 season, the Lviv team saved their existence in the PlusLiga. The decisive match was the direct match with PSG Stal Nysa, which lost its hopes of survival by losing to Barkom Każany. The club from Nysa already lives in the first league, while the Ukrainian representative in PlusLiga changed his home again this season, this time landing in Elbląg. Therefore, the Lviv team was not very far from Tricity, which was visible practically from the beginning of the match.
Barkom Każany played really solidly, especially impressive in terms of blocking, but also in attack effectiveness. Energa Trefl could not find a way to defeat the opponent for a long time. Coach Nikola Grbic watched the entire match from behind advertising banners, sitting right next to the pitch. During the inauguration of PlusLiga, the coach was also accompanied in Tricity by the president of the Polish Volleyball Association, Sebastian Świderski.
Were the gentlemen satisfied with the level of the show? It seems that interesting, coherent actions were mixed with a large dose of inaccuracies, mistakes, and there was also a lot of stress due to the need to play for the stake. Although, let’s be honest, the vast majority of players on the pitch were experienced volleyball players, so you may turn up your nose at some fragments of the match in Ergo Arena.
However, it is the hosts who can finally celebrate and thus became the first leader of PlusLiga in the 2025/26 season. Tobias Brand was chosen MVP of the match. A German who returned to Gdańsk after a short episode in Warsaw, which was, let me add, moderately successful. It seems that Energa Trefl has gained a really solid leader who can support the team. Additionally, the performance of Aliaksei Nasevich is worth mentioning as a plus.
The Polish representative scored 21 points and although in the first actions of the new season he was treated to some impressive “caps” from his opponents, he ultimately finished the match with a big advantage. Coach Grbic could applaud the performance of his player from the wide squad of the 2025 season.
On the losing side, the reliable Wasyl Tupchii scored the most points, adding as many as 20 points. The team from Lviv should also have a lot of consolation with Lorenzo Pope. And the whole, commanded by the experienced Lukas Kampa, means that Barkom Każany – although lost in the opening – can play this season completely differently than the previous one, in which it was mainly teetering on the verge of relegation.
