CV MELILLA secure additional home win in #CEVChallengeCupM 8th Finals

CV MELILLA continue their successful campaign in the men’s CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup 2025 following their 3-1 home victory (25-18, 23-25, 25-16, 25-22) over Volley NÄFELS of Switzerland in the first round of the 8th Finals. Some 400 fans came together for this match in Melilla with the home side celebrating a 3-1 win to have an edge ahead of the re-match in Switzerland. 

The game was a close affair in its early stages (8-8) as the two teams fought bravely for every point. Neither team was able to break away until CV MELILLA edged ahead at 11-9 propelled by small errors made by the Swiss team. CV MELILLA good serve and their great reception were key to taking a five-point lead (18-13). The players directed by Salim Abdelkader knew how to play the last part of the first set perfectly to secure a clear 25-18 victory. 

The story of the match did not change much in the second set, as both teams came out extremely focused. The Swiss side began to put their blocking machine into action and in the blink of an eye they turned the score around to 11-8 in their favour. The exchange of points in the next part of this set made it impossible for the Melilla team to get any closer, and small details of luck in favour of the Swiss team added to this, which meant that the visitors still had a three-point advantage at 20-17. The Melilla team tried in every possible way to change the dynamic of the game and with the appearance of Gabriel del Carmen on serve, they managed to level the score at 20-20. However, Volley NÄFELS rose to the occasion to win this set (25-23). 

The Melilla team started the third set with a 7-5 lead with Argentinean Federico Martina leading the way in attack. They continued to perform well (13-10), with the visiting team’s coaching staff having to call a time-out. This did not have the desired effect as the locals kept a six-point advantage (16-10). This was reassuring enough to play with ease and as the game progressed, CV MELILLA stormed to a comprehensive 25-16 set win. 

The Swiss team took the lead at the start of the fourth set, but CV MELILLA quickly put things back in their place with a positive run to make it 6-4. Things were not at all clear as both teams took advantage of small mistakes made by their opponents to trade points for a while. The Swiss took the lead again at 13-11 but once again Melilla’s good play came to the fore (16-14) with Martina delivering an outstanding performance. The Spaniards showed their superiority in the ‘hottest’ moments to stay ahead until Volley NÄFELS fought back to 20-all. CV MELILLA did not falter and managed to overcome all adversities to win the set by 25-22 and the match by 3-1.