Cucine Lube Civitanova attempted an attack in Poland, but the hosts, Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, reached the CEV Champions League Final Four. At the Sosnowiec Arena, in front of over three thousand local fans and a group of loyal Predators from the Marche region, Giampaolo Medei’s men saw their dreams of a comeback vanish after two sets won by their opponents, building on their previous 3-0 victory at the Eurosuole Forum. The return match against the European runners-up ended with the largest margin (25-22, 25-18, 26-24) for the home team. A bittersweet ending after a failed comeback attempt that had already looked difficult on the eve of the match.
The MVP of the match was home opposite hitter Boladz, who scored 10 points, matching Bottolo. Nikolov started with seven serves in the first set, but was limited to eight. Middle blockers Podrascanin (8) and Tenorio (6) stood out in the second half.
In the first set (25-22), Lube started well on offense and proved more accurate with Nikolov at 64%, but the team struggled on serve (8 errors and no aces). Despite not excelling, Zawiercie scored two aces that proved decisive. In the second set (25-18), Lube’s percentage dropped to 35%, their defense struggled, especially in the first half, while Aluron remained consistent and flew to the Final Four.
In the third set (26-24), with Zawiercie already qualified, the two teams changed their lineups. The game was point-for-point. Lube squandered a set point and bowed to advantage in a set that no longer mattered.
GIAMPAOLO MEDEI (coach): “In the doubles match, Zawiercie deserved to advance to the next round by consistently playing excellent volleyball. There’s obviously a lot of disappointment about today’s match, looking back on the first set. The approach was good, both competitively and tactically, but if you create interesting situations, you have to exploit them. In the second set, we got nervous, and that prevented the boys from playing their volleyball. We tried to come back and managed to close the gap, but by then our opponents were too strong.
FABIO BALASO: “There’s a lot of disappointment because in the first set we played on equal terms, but we weren’t able to assert ourselves, wasting some favorable counterattack opportunities. Their two aces on the lines were decisive in the scoreline. In the second set, there was a period of uncertainty. We couldn’t react and immediately broke on Tavares’ serve.
Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie – Cucine Lube Civitanova 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 26-24)
ZAWIERCIE: Kwolek 8, Russell 4, Zniszczol 1, Czerwinski 5, Boladz 10, Popiwczak (L), Nowosielski 1, Markiewicz 4, Gladyr 4, Tavares 1, Bieniek 5, Ogorek (L), Ensing 5, Łaba 5. All. Winiarski. CIVITANOVA: D’heer, Gargiulo 2, Loeppky 3, Orduna 1, Bisotto (L), Balaso (L), Boninfante, Nikolov 8, Kukartsev 4, Podrascanin 8, Bottolo 10, Duflos-Rossi 2, Hfaiedh 2, Tenorio 6. All. Medei.
Arbitri: Akinci (TUR) e Strandson (EST)
Note: durata set 24’, 24’, 30’. Totale: 1h 18’. Zawiercie: errori al servizio 16, ace 4, muri 7, attacco 55%, ricezione 32% (11%). Civitanova: errori al servizio 18, ace 3, muri 8, attacco 45%, ricezione 34% (15%). MVP: Boladz.
