The final home match of the 2025/26 Regular Season could crown Bulgarian spiker Alex Nikolov as the top scorer in the first round. The match on Wednesday, February 25th, with the first serve at 8:30 pm on the taraflex at the Eurosuole Forum, will serve Cucine Lube Civitanova and Vero Volley Monza as they prepare for their upcoming matches, but not as a game-changer in the standings. In the final round, the hosts will want to keep the tension high ahead of the two-day Del Monte® Supercoppa at the PalaTrieste, which will see the Italian runners-up face Rana Verona on Saturday, March 28th at 6:00 pm. The visitors are already looking ahead to the Scudetto Playoff Quarterfinals against Sir Susa Scai Perugia.
The face-off against Massimo Eccheli’s men, in addition to redeeming the four-set defeat in the first match, could help Nikolov launch a decisive assault on the title of top scorer of the regular season. On paper, the advantage is significant, given that the Italian athlete has scored 434 points in 20 matches (77 sets) compared to the 412 of Belgian Ferre Reggers, opposite hitter for Allianz Milano, who needed 21 matches (77 sets) to reach a still remarkable milestone. To understand what the red and white attacker has achieved so far, just compare him with Nathan Feral, the French opposite hitter for MA Acqua S.Bernardo Cuneo, who is third with 325 points scored, a full 109 fewer than the Balkan scourge.
Alex Nikolov (Cucine Lube Civitanova spiker):
“The team’s well-being always comes first, Lube’s victories and the points needed for placements, qualifications, and everything that can pave the way for the team’s future. In this case, the match doesn’t matter for the standings, but it will be important for reaching the Super Cup Final Four with confidence. We need to raise our game in the fundamentals; that matters a lot. That’s how things are.
