Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza – ACH Volley Ljubljana (SLO) 3-2 (30-28, 25-20, 27-29, 20-25, 15-4) – Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza: Porro 1, Leon 2, Pace, Mandiraci 23, Comparoni 5, Simon 17, Travica, Andringa, Bergmann, Iyegbekedo, Gutierrez 17, Bovolenta 21, Loreti (L). N.E. Galaxies. All. Boninfante. ACH Volley Ljubljana (SLO): Stern 33, Pajenk 11, Sket, Marovt 15, Sen, Kržič Janz 6, Kovačič (L), Ropret 1, Urnaut 3. N.E. Kržič Jost, Prevorčnik, Najdič, Verdinek. Coach: Kolakovic. REFEREES: Niewiarowska, Teixeira. NOTES – Set length: 34′, 27′, 32′, 25′, 12′; total: 130′. Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza: 18 incorrect serves, 14 winners. ACH Volley Ljubljana (SLO): 18 incorrect serves, 8 winners.
It took over two hours of play at the PalaBancaSport for the home team Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza to celebrate at the end of the first leg of the CEV Cup semifinals: Piacenza defeated ACH Volley Ljubljana in a hard-fought, closely contested match, which ultimately rewarded Bovolenta and his teammates in the fifth set. The first two sets—despite a confident start from the Slovenians—were won by the red and whites, who were then forced to endure a comeback from their opponents before Mandiraci’s extraordinary service performance in the decisive set (ten consecutive serves peppered with three aces) handed Piacenza the victory. In a week’s time, in Slovenia, Piacenza will need to win “three-pointers” to secure a spot in the final.
Among the stars of the evening were Toncek Stern, the top scorer with 33 points; Pajenk (11) and Marovt (15) also scored in double figures for Ljubljana. Piacenza’s Efe Mandiraci finished with 23 points, followed by Alessandro Bovolenta’s 21 and the 17 points each from Cubans José Miguel Gutierrez and Robertlandy Simon. Piacenza can now focus on its SuperLega commitments: on Sunday evening, against Valsa Group Modena, they will play for a spot in the playoff semifinals.
CEV Cup 2026
Semifinals – Away Match
Thursday, April 2, 2026, 8:00 PM
ACH Volley Ljubljana (SLO) – Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza
Referees: Bjorn Willems, Josip Hristov
Live on DAZN
