Dutch receiver/outside hitter Robbert Andringa has signed with Indykpol AZS Olsztyn in Poland’s PlusLiga. He will replace Sliwka Alexander, who spent the last year on loan with the club from Asseco Resovia – a club that after a mass exodus now suddenly is in need of players.
Andringa has been a member of the Dutch National Team since 2010, including a gold medal in 2012 in the European League.
Andringa joins the team from Stade Poitiers in the French league, where he scored 241 points in 86 sets played (2.80 points/set), and had 66% positive receptions and 43% perfect receptions, which ranked him 4th and 2nd, respectively, among players with at least 100 receptions. In total, he had 202 kills, 30 blocks, and 9 aces.
Olsztyn finished 5th in the PlusLiga table last season with 65 points – 12 behind regular season champions Zaksa.
The player he places, meanwhile, ranked just 24th last season in the PlusLiga’s player rankings among outside hitters. The team’s top hitter, Wlodarczyk Wojciech, ranked 3rd in the same category.
As a team last season, AZS Olsztyn had only 19% perfect reception. The more offensive-minded Sliwka and Wojciech were only 21% and 18%, respectively, on perfect service receiptions, which means Andriga should bring an immediate upgrade in getting the team into system.
“The priority for us was to retain Alexander Sliwka,” explains Tomasz Jankowski, President of the Volleyball Federation AZS UWM in Olsztyn. “Since February we conducted talks with the player and Asseco Resovia to keep him on loan for another season. Unfortunately, we have not received permission, so we were looking for his successor. The choice fell on the representative of the Netherlands, whose strength is very good reception of serve. I am convinced that he will fit in with the team, which will translate into good results next season.”
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