Can home outsiders turn the tables for a spot in the final in the CEV Volleyball Cup Men?

There is still everything to play for in the second leg of the semi-finals in the CEV Volleyball Cup Men, after the first legs saw both hots – Asseco Resovia Rzeszów and Trentino Itas – clinch hard-fought 3:2 wins against Tours VB and Ziraat Bank Ankara respectively.

Trentino, the reigning CEV Champions League Men winners, extended their domination over Turkish opponents, securing seven wins in eight matches, but the away leg looks to be a tough proposition for the Italian side, which needed a comeback to secure the 3:2 win in the first leg.

In fact, Trentino lost the first two sets, in a tough fight, 26:28 and 27:29, but bounced back in superb fashion to take the next three sets, 25:21; 25:23 and a dominating 15:8 performance in the decider, as Alessandro Michielletto had 27 points, Kamil Rychlicki had 19 points and Daniele Lavia added 18 points.

While the Italian side has made it to the final of the CEV Volleyball Cup Men three times – winning the semi-finals each time – they are aiming to extend that streak against Ankara, a team which won four out of four this season in the European second-tier competition on their home court, dropping only two sets, both in the quarter-final against ACH Volley Ljubljana.

“Ankara overtook us in the final stages of the first two sets, working very well in every fundamental, but objectively we could have resolved some counterattacking situations better. As happens more and more often, however, our team managed to emerge from moments of enormous difficulty; we had the patience to rebuild our match and we also held up very well from a physical point of view. It is important to take with us everything we have done this evening because we will need it a lot at the end of the season,” said Trentino’s coach, Fabio Soli, after the end of the first match.

Before the second leg of the semi-final, which is scheduled for Wednesday, 19 March, at 17:00 CET, Ziraat Bank won their league match against Tursad, 3:0, while Trentino Itas conceded a 1:3 loss in the quarter-finals of the Italian league play-offs away at Cisterna.

Reigning champions Rzeszów also had a see-saw first leg against fellow CEV Volleyball Cup Men former winners, Tours VB, taking a 3:2 win, after coming back from 0:1 and 1:2 at sets to clinch the decider, 15:10.

Eight years removed from their maiden CEV Volleyball Cup Men trophy, Tours VB are aiming for another push for the final, after missing out on a big win in the first leg against Rzeszów, after a fantastic performance from Ryan Sclater, who had 31 points in the match, and an outstanding 57% attacking efficiency.

So far, the Polish side has a nine-match winning streak in the competition, delivering a fantastic overall performance, dropping only three sets, two against Fenerbahce and one against Pafiakos Pafos, with two of them coming in away matches.

On the other hand, Tours have seven wins in nine matches, and conceded a 2:3 loss on their home court against Swiss side Volley Amriswil in the play-offs.

Like in the doubleheader between Trentino and Ziraat Bank Ankara, a home win – 3:0 or 3:1 – would see the hosts progress to the final. On the other hand, a 3:2 win for Tours would result in a Golden Set, whereas a victory for Resovia by any score would see them through to the finals.