On Saturday, 19 December, BTS Elektros Bolesławiec’s senior team faced Ikar Legnica away. After a gruelling battle, the Bolesławiec side defeated the Legnica team 3:2, recording their ninth consecutive victory and strengthening their position at the top of Group A.

– Matches against Ikar Legnica are difficult; that is nothing new – says Jacek Łuczkowski. – They are always very close and exciting encounters. It was the same that Saturday. Moreover, the sports hall in Legnica is very specific and it is very difficult to play there—not only for us, but for all teams. For this reason, our volleyball players could not fully use one of their strengths—their powerful serve. Nevertheless, we won, and we should be happy about that.

The BTS Elektros senior team advanced to the second phase of the competition together with the teams from Legnica and Żarów. The points earned in matches against these teams count in the next phase. After two wins against Legnica (3:0 at home and 3:2 away) and one against Żarów, “the Electrics” start with 8 points and are third in the table.

– We regret most the three points from the first round that we lost in Żarów – admits the BTS president. – It was the first match of the season. We played with a severely weakened squad. Now we will have to make up those points.

Each of the teams that advanced to the second phase faces 12 matches (the season will run until mid-April). Bolesławiec will now compete not against Legnica or Żarów (those matches have already been counted), but against teams from other groups, such as: ZTS Ząbkowice Śląskie (12 points – table leaders), PKPS Siatkarz Bierutów (runners-up – 9 points), MUKS Ziemia Milicka Milcz, KS Gwardia Wrocław, ULKS Opal Kudowa-Zdrój and MKS Pogoń Góra.

– We have to beat everyone, because only the top two places provide an opportunity to compete for the second division – explains J. Łuczkowski. – The fact that Ząbkowice won all their home matches does not mean anything yet. After three or four rounds, the table may look completely different.

– We have drawn conclusions from three seasons – the president continues. – We already know that having a deep squad is very important. Our players work, study and serve in various uniformed services—in short, they have their own responsibilities. Throughout the entire first phase of this season, there was no occasion when coach Marcin Sobczyszyn had the optimal squad at his disposal. At times, three, four or even five players from the starting lineup were unavailable.

Nevertheless, Jacek Łuczkowski makes no secret of the fact that BTS Elektros aspire to the second division.

Acknowledgements and plans

– We are consistently pleased that three local authorities support us: Powiat Bolesławiecki, which makes the I LO sports hall available to us free of charge; the City of Bolesławiec, which supports us as part of a public-task project; and Gmina Bolesławiec. Wójt Andrzej Dutkowski understands volleyball and helps us a great deal – the BTS president lists. – I would also like to thank our title sponsor, the company Elektros.

He adds: – What are our plans? We would like all our teams [czyli także kadeci i juniorzy – przyp. „ii”] to play in one hall. Most importantly, the club has shown that it is prepared to run teams in all age categories. If volleyball is to develop here, the applications for funding to carry out the public task that we submitted should be taken seriously.

We will return to this subject.