Cucine Lube Civitanova and Bogdanka BOK Lublin make huge steps towards final in CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup Men
Review
With two 3:0 clear wins in the first leg of the semi-finals of the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup Men, Cucine Lube Civitanova and Bogdanka LUK Lublin made a huge step towards the last act of the competition.
Semi-finalists in the previous season of the CEV Champions League Men, Cucine Lube Civitanova, the big favourites for the title in the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup Men this season, provided an excellent performance against SK Ankara, after not losing a set in the previous six matches, three doubleheaders until this phase of the competition.
Cucine delivered a fantastic performance once again, with their win never in doubt, as Erik Loepky had 17 points, while Adis Lagumdzija added 13 points, to secure their seventh consecutive win in straight sets, 25:21, 25:17 and 25:21 against SK Ankara.
“It was very important to score such a good victory in our home match, but qualification is still open for both teams. Another battle is expecting us next week in Turkey, and I am so excited for. I think our good performance with blocks was the key for the win tonight. In the away match, we must be mentally strong, to score the qualification to the final,” said Loepky after the end of the match.
SK Ankara will now have a mountain to climb, as their future relies on winning the second match 3:0 or 3:1 and pushing this semi-final in the golden set, a difficult task, as Cucine Lube Civitanova look in top form, having won the Italian Cup three weeks ago.
In the other semi-final, Bogdanka BOK Lublin, a team which had lost only two sets until this phase of the competition, in six matches, provided yet another excellent outing, clinching a masterclass of a win on Sporting CP’s court, to improve their chances of progression to their maiden European final in history.
Mikołaj Sawicki had 13 points for Lublin, while Kewin Sasak added 10 more points in their team’s 3:0 (25:18; 25:21; 25:18) win against the Portuguese side, which will now have their work cut out if they want to qualify for the final.
The away legs of the two matches will take place on 25 February – in the match between Ankara and Lube Cucine Civitanova – and on 26 February in the match between Lublin and Sporting CP.