In focus: Aleksander Śliwka

Aleksander Śliwka has been one of the main pillars of Grupa Azoty Zaksa Kędzierzyn's squad, since he joined the club in 2018. The 27-year-old left-handed outside spiker is no stranger to success in his career with both the club and the national team. Back-to-back #CLVolleyM winner and 2018 world champion is eager for more.

Aleksander Śliwka was born to a Volleyball family. Both his parents played Volleyball, so Aleksander naturally followed in their footsteps, especially because his older sisters were also involved in the sport. His parents with their friends even started their own Volleyball club - Spartkakus Jawor, where Aleksander and his younger brother Piotr (2021 FIVB U19 world champion) began their career. Aleksander Śliwka was a promising young player, hence his successful story began already at underaged events. In 2013, he won silver at the European Youth Olympic Festival and the CEV U19 European Championship, repeating this achievement a year later with the U20 team. In the 2014 he signed his first professional contract with Asseco Resovia Rzeszów, but in his first season he was loaned to AZS Politechnika Warszawska. In summer 2015, he made his debut in senior national team of Poland and won a bronze medal at the European League. After spending the 2015/2016 season in Rzeszów, Śliwka moved to AZS Olsztyn for one year and returned to Rzeszów again. Through all these years, Śliwka already showed his potential and a wide range of skills, but the summer of 2018 was a ground-breaking moment in his career. He signed a contract with Grupa Azoty Zaksa Kędzierzyn Kożle and was an important member of Poland's golden squad that triumphed in the 2018 World Champions. Since that moment, an astonish streak of success with the club and national team started.

Already in the first season, he won with Zaksa a double crown in the domestic league. His team triumphed in the Polish Cup and claimed the Polish championship. Śliwka himself was named MVP of the Polish Cup. The 2019 national team season also brought new medals to his cabinet – the World Cup silver and bronze from EuroVolley. In the season interrupted by coronavirus outbreak, he led Zaksa to victory in the Polish SuperCup, becoming the MVP of the event. Under his belt he has two more Polish Cups won with Zaksa (2020/2021, 2021/2022), one silver medal in PlusLiga (2021/2022) and another national title regained last season (2021/2022).  Śliwka represented Poland at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, and won two medals during the summer of 2021 – silver at the Volleyball Nations League and bronze at the EuroVolley.

Śliwka was unquestionably one of Zaksa's leaders on the way to both #CLVolleyM titles. When his team lifted the maiden trophy, the Polish outside-hitter scored 18 points in the final game against Trentino, won by the Polish powerhouse 3-1. His spectacular performance was recognized with an MVP award, but he also put immense efforts during the entire road to the final – Śliwka was 4^th best scorer of the Champions League 2021 with 146 points (and 59,55% of success in attack). In the last edition, Zaksa played fewer games than their opponents, and that also affected Śliwka’s ranking. The left-handed outside spiker was 15^th on the top scorers’ list with 105 points to his name, but he was one of the pillars of the Polish club.

Before the beginning of the new club season, together with the national team of Poland, Śliwka earned a silver medal at the World Championships on home soil. The captain of Zaksa is definitely ready for new challenges, this season he will have even more responsibility on his arms.

"I'm proud of all my achievements, but I don't want them to influence my hunger for success. I still want to win, claim more titles and become a better player and person. I play in a great club, which every year fights for the trophies, same as the national team which has been on the world's top for years. I want to get the best out of it, win as much as possible" – Śliwka said in an interview for PlusLiga.

Watch the Champions League live on EuroVolleyTV.