There was a lot of talk about him at the Men’s Volleyball World Championships. Did Nikola Grbic unblock him?
Asseco Resovia Rzeszów started the season by winning three matches. In two of them, the new player, Artur Szalpuk, was awarded the MVP statuette.
As expected, Asseco Resovia Rzeszów made a good deal by reaching out to the competition for one of the Polish representatives. PGE Projekt Warszawa lost Artur Szalpuk, eventually reaching for another player, Bartosz Bednorz. Although “Benji” did not find recognition in the eyes of coach Nikola Grbic during the final selection for the 2025 World Cup in the Philippines. Instead, the aforementioned “Szalupa” went there.
Interestingly, in the case of the transfers of Szalpuk and Bednorz, there was… an exchange on the Warsaw-Rzeszów line. The latter spent the 2024/25 season with Asseco Resovia, but ultimately did not stay in Podkarpacie for long.
PlusLiga: Artur Szalpuk is the leader of Asseco Resovia. Will he win in Warsaw?
The next few months will probably show what the story with Szalpuk and his stay in Rzeszów will look like. The receiver has had a successful international season. Being included in the tournament squad for the World Championships is certainly a big thing – although Szalpuk has earned it well with successful performances, among others. during the League of Nations.
The volleyball player’s character also became famous during the tournament in the Philippines. At that time, there were even accusations related to Szalpuk’s absence on the pitch due to the problems of the Polish national team. It is worth recalling that Tomasz Fornal suffered an injury, but in the end “Szalupa” did not perform in the long distance, being in the hierarchy behind Wilfredo Leon, Kamil Semeniuk and… Fornal, who was not in good health.
Who knows, perhaps the national team season itself and the positive buzz around “Szalupa” have made the volleyball player himself even more motivated to have a solid season with Asseco Resovia. This is visible in the form shown by the receiver at the beginning of the game. A very solid point of the team, a leader that Rzeszów certainly needed.
Interestingly, next Thursday (i.e. November 6) two teams that have not been defeated so far in the league season will play in Warsaw. PGE Projekt will face Asseco Resovia (8:30 p.m., broadcast on Polsat Sport 3), so it will be a special match, including: for Szalpuk or Bednorz. The Warsaw team also includes Karol Kłos, a center who also joins PGE Projekt after playing in the capital of Podkarpacie.
How does Szalpuk evaluate the fact of the high form of the Warsaw team, leading in the PlusLiga with all points and not a single set lost(!)?
– Good for them for not losing a single set yet. They play well, they are a good team that has been starting the league very well for years. Last season, when I played there, we suffered our first defeat only in the tenth round. So it’s nice that we will be able to test ourselves against such a rival, but there will also be many other such theoretically bigger matches. The ones that fans are excited about. So there is no point in thinking that this match will decide about the medals at the end – said the host in an interview published on the official website of PlusLiga.
“Szalupa” turned 30 in March this year. His credits include, among others: world championship in 2018, as a member of coach Vital Heynen’s team. Will the 2025/26 campaign be a breakthrough for Szalpuk? For now, it is too early a stage for any binding conclusions regarding the final decisions, but there are certainly good reasons for this.
