Super League round 11 preview - Bentiti convinced better times ahead for Polonia

Having finished top of the 2023-24 regular season table with just one loss all campaign and then reaching the gold medal match at Final 4 – where they lost in four sets to the Durham Palatinates – team and player could have been forgiven for thinking that this would be their year. 

Aa a club with a proud history and tradition at the very top of English volleyball (winning the title three times between 2010-11 and 2019-20, as well as finishing as runners up on a further occasions), it looked as if a first national league title in six years may be in the offing. 

But, for a number of reasons, things have not quite panned out as planned for Polonia, Bentiti or their dedicated band of supporters, who regularly cheer the team on for home games at Northolt High School. 

It means that, instead of battling things out at the top, as has frequently been the case, the Londoners have found themselves in the unfamilar position of trying to stave off the drop from the DYNAMIK Men’s Super League to NVL Division 1. 

Their task in that quest has not been helped by the fact their on-court dip has come in a season when only the top six teams will be guaranteed to retain their Super League status for 2025-26 because of a reduction in the number of teams at the elite level from 10 to eight. 

Yet in recent weeks there have been definite signs of the green shoots of recovery in the shape of three consecutive wins – league successes at Stockport (3-2) and at home to Essex Blaze (3-1), followed by progress to the last eight of the National Cup with a straight sets success over NVL Division 1 Black Country.

The club have also been boosted by the appointment of popular former player Bartosz Kisielewicz, who has taken over as Head Caach and will be assisted by Jastrzębski Węgiel. 

While there is still much work to do and some tough tests to come, 29-year-old Dahmane believes Polonia are building their momentum nicely and can continue to turn things around. 

“We lost players who were giving us a lot last season, such as Ephraim (Mills), Mihail (Stoev) and Piero (Müller), and even Filipi (Rodrigues) started late due to an injury to his eye,” he said. “Also, I don’t think we prepared in the necessary manner compared to other teams that played a friendly tournament (in the lead-up to the season). 

“But I believe in this team and I believe we will back. I’m not too worried (about the league position) as I know and I’m sure that this team will come back. 

“I feel that because of the players we have at their club and their desire to be the best.” 

An acid test of how far the Polonia resurgence has come will be their weekend meeting with the current Super League leaders Malory Eagles UEL. 

After losing their opening game at Opening Weekend, Jefferson Williams’ side have reeled off seven straight league victories to underline that they are serious contenders to go all the way this season. 

Ending that streak is a tough ask for IBB, especially considering the Eagles will enjoy home advantage at UEL SportsDock, but Dahmane is relishing the challenge.  

He said: “Malory have done a great job so far this season. They have good players playing clean volleyball at the moment, which is why they have been successful. 

“When I have played against them in the past I feel I’ve play well and I’ve really had a lot of fun. I will try to have more fun against them this Saturday. 

“We will give it everything we have got as a team when we play them, and I always go into a match feeling I can win... there is no other choice. 

“Our goal is to win all the remaining games, including Malory. We have some difficult matches, and we need to be ready for everyone, but we know we can do what we need to do.” 

Algerian by birth, Dahmane first played volleyball in 2023 at the age of eight years old, having played football prior to that. 

He initially made the transition for practical reasons – his soccer team was a long way from home and his local volleyball team much closer – but once he got involved with the game, he was hooked. 

“I started to love the game as if I were living an adventure,” he said. “I started progressing day after day, thanks to the coaches who were pushing me hard. 

“I always applied what they said to me, and my ambitions gradually increased over time playing for a team called Ascos, where I learned the alphabet of volleyball to the full. 

“My thanks will always go to those coaches (Hamid Eit Aoudia and Buba Cheniti), who did not deprive me of anything. For me, a lot of your success depends on your coach, so I’m very thankful that I had them to give me that good start.” 

By 2015, Dahmane was playing with an adult team and soon attracted the attention of the country’s leading team Mouloudia Club d'Alger (MCA), or GS Pétroliers (GSP) as it was then known. 

Here he started his journey into the professional side of the sport and enjoyed plenty of success along the way. 

Dahmane, who started out as a setter and also played as an outside before becoming an opposite, said: “When you get an offer from MCA, it’s one no-one can turn down. They are a long-established team that has the best players in Algeria and Africa and have been the winners of many titles. 

“I was exposed to the highest level of training daily, sometimes twice a day, and I started to gain in experience from players and coaches and apply it to my own game. 

“I was living the dream at that time because I played with some very famous players, whose names you hear about. I won three Arab Championships, one in Bahrain, two in Tunisia, and twice won the Algerian Cup.” 

After a year playing for another team, Bilda, during the Coronavirus Pandemic, Dahmane then moved to Britain to live and work, which was the beginning of his relationship with Polonia. 

“When I moved here, I was looking for the best team here in London,” he said. “I heard a lot of talk about Polonia, so I contacted the Technical Director Chris (Hykiel), who I had already been in contact with before moving over. 

“He welcomed me along to train with the team, I trained with them twice, and then they told me that I had to stay. We need you, they said!” 

“I quickly bonded with the team – good players who love competition – and I have found a team with a winning mentality, which was wonderful for me. I feel comfortable, and that is the most important thing.” 

In his third season at IBB, Dahmane leads a busy life, working as a Supervisor by day in a bustling South Kensington burger restaurant. 

But it is volleyball that remains his passion as he still harbour hopes of playing professionally again one day – and he hopes that might be possible on these shores. 

Dahmane, who now lives in Streatham, said: “I’ve moved from a volleyball life and daily training to a working life where I’m waking up early to work and then train when I can, but I’m now I’m used to it. 

“I’m trying to help my team as much as possible, and I’m trying to do the right things, but it is tough improve my skills because I train once or twice a week and I think that is not enough for me. 

“As for my future in volleyball, I will try to enjoy as much as I can. As long as I can jump and run, I won’t stop. 

“Maybe I’ll play professionally again, I have had many offers from Europe, but I will see how things go. I hope one day I can be a professional here in Britain, but we will have to see how things develop.” 

Action images by Marcin Urban and Nathaniel Macrae.

---

For all the Super League fixtures, results and latest news, click here.

Keep up to date with all the action via our social media channels... Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X.