Heroic Ziraat Bank secure spot in the final of the CEV Volleyball Cup Men, as Asseco Resovia write history

Ziraat Bank Ankara and Asseco Resovia Rzeszów are the two finalists of the CEV Volleyball Cup Men this season, after securing wins in the second legs of the semi-finals, which took place on Wednesday, 19 March.

Ziraat Bank Ankara made it to the final of the CEV Volleyball Cup Men for the second time in the last seven years, with a fantastic turnaround against Trentino Itas, after the Italian side took a 3:2 win in the first leg.

The Turkish side proved their potential in the first match, when they took the first two sets, but conceded the last three, yet set up a good position for the second leg, where they thoroughly outplayed the reigning champions in the CEV Champions League Men.

Trentino conceded the first two sets, 17:25 and 23:25, but mounted a challenge in the third set, arguably the best they played during the doubleheader, when they dominated Ankara and took a 25:17 win.

But in the fourth set, which proved to be decisive, Ziraat Bank dominated after being down 8:6, with Wouter ter Maat delivering a fantastic performance, with 20 points, seconded by Bedirhan Bülbül, with 14 points and Trévor Clevenot, with 13 points, to clinch the set, 25:20, and progress to the final.

Trentino’s attack had a 44% overall efficiency in the match, boosted by the performance in the third set, otherwise getting a 38% performance in the first and fourth sets, impossible to deliver a win in this high-stakes match.

For Ziraat Bank Ankara, this will be the third European final, after conceding the one in the CEV Volleyball Cup Men in the 2017/18 season, against Belogorie Belgorod, and the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup Men in the 2020/21 season against Allianz Milano.

Ziraat Bank Ankara’s opponents in the final will be Asseco Resovia Rzeszów, which secured a place in the last act with their 10th consecutive win of the season, 3:0, against Tours VB.

The Polish side had a good lead after the first leg, 3:2, but still needed to win this match to avoid elimination, and they came out guns blazing, despite a comeback from Tours in the first set.

There were plenty of twists and turns, but in the end of the first set it was Asseco Resovia which secured the win, 30:28, getting even closer to an overall win and securing a spot in the final.

Stephen Boyer and Klemen Cebulj had 13 points each for Asseco Resovia, which used a 53% attacking efficiency and six aces to go on and clinch the other two sets, 25:20 and 25:22, making it once again to the final, their third in the CEV Volleyball Cup Men.

Since the current format of the competition was introduced in the 2007/08 season, no team has made the final in back-to-back seasons, therefore no team has ever won the trophy in two consecutive seasons, with Asseco Resovia being primed to write history when they face Ziraat Bank in the final.