Huge Shock For Milano in The First Round, Zawiercie Survived in Five Sets

This weekend, the club season officially started in Italy, but it did not go well as expected for the #CLVolleyM squad Milano. The Polish powerhouse Zawiercie also struggled a lot in their domestic battle, but in the end, they left the court with a 3-2 victory.

One of the CEV Champions League squads of Italy, Allianz Milano started the season with their first match against Gioiella Prisma Taranto in the opening round of the Italian SuperLega. Even though the Milano side was the clear pre-favorite of the match, there was a clear dominance from Taranto throughout the game, and Milano suffered a three-set defeat (0-3: 21-25, 20-25, 19-25).

Brodie Hofer and Fabrizio Gironi became the top scorers of the match, producing 15 points apiece. Belgian promising opposite Ferre Reggers was the only player who scored in double digits (13 points) in Milano. Other #CLVolleyM teams of the country, Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia and Itas Trentino began the national league as they aimed, taking three-point victories.

The Polish CEV Champions League Volley club Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie hosted CEV Cup participant Asseco Resovia Rzeszow in the third leg of the Polish PlusLiga. Both teams had so many ups and downs during the fight, and the score was tied to 2-2 after four sets. In the last part, Zawiercie played a superior game and became victorious by a score of 3-2 (21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 23-25, 15-12).

Portuguese setter Miguel Tavares Rodriguez was selected as the MVP of the game, thanks to his performance in the service line as well (5 aces). American outside hitter Aaron Russell was the most productive player on the winning side, scoring 26 points, including three aces and two blocks. The other two #CLVolleyM teams of Poland, Projekt Warszawa and Jastrzebski Wegiel managed to continue their way undefeated.

Things went quite well in Germany for Berlin Recycling Volleys and Helios Grizzlys Giesen: They both passed their opponents without losing any sets and completed the weekend in the best way for themselves.

#CLVolleyM teams mostly had a quite successful weekend as they won their battles without any difficulties, but this was not the case for Milano in Italy. Similarly, Zawiercie in Poland beat one of their important rivals in the tie-break. As the season progresses, all teams will aim to improve and deliver more consistent performances as they embark on their long journey toward success.