Cucine Lube Civitanova eye comeback against Lublin in the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup Men deciding leg

In the previous edition of the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup Men, a Polish side, PGE Projekt Warszawa, took two 3:1 wins in the final against Vero Volley Monza, clinching the title.

This time around, another Polish-Italian final is on the cards and in the first leg, Bogdanka LUK Lublin made a huge step towards winning their maiden European trophy, with a 3:1 win over Cucine Lube Civitanova.

The Polish side, who had four players score at least 10 points in the match, dominated the first leg, despite their attack being close in efficiency to Lube’s (48% to 44%) throughout the four sets.

But Bogdanka LUK Lublin had a fantastic weapon in Wlfredo Leon, the MVP of the CEV EuroVolley Men 2023, who delivered six aces and 22 points, lifting his side with a fantastic performance.

Yet this was not a walk in the park for the Polish side, which took the first set, 25:20, dominating the proceedings with an excellent display. However, in the second set, Lublin faltered in the closing stages, conceding a 16:14 lead, taking only six points until the end of the set, which went to Civitanova’s way, 25:22.

But there was no question about the stronger side in the third set, which Lublin dominated from start to finish, with a 16:7 and 21:12 leads, until Civitanova cut the gap, but conceded the set, 25:18.

The fourth set was crucial and could be pivotal in this final. Lublin were down 16:14 and 21:18, but from that point onwards, Leon and Fynnian McCarthy, who chipped in with 11 points, dominated, helping Lublin get over the finish line, 26:24.

This means that the Polish side needs only two sets in the second leg against Cucine Lube Civitanova to clinch their maiden European trophy.

“The difference was made by the service, which is Lublin's extra weapon. They put us in great difficulty and we were unable to contain them. At times we were not lucid, even in a crucial phase of the fourth set when we were ahead by three points. We will try to overturn the outcome of the final. We will play until the end for our chances of victory,” said Civitanova’s coach, Giampaolo Medei.

This weekend, Civitanova extended their hopes in the Italian league, tying the quarter-final play-offs match against Allianz Milano, with a strong 3:0 win (25:16; 25:16; 25:20), ensuring that they can take the lead in the tie in the weekend.

On the other hand, Lublin saw their eight-match winning streak in all competitions snapped, with a 1:3 loss against Jastrzebski Wegiel in the Polish league.