Lube's experience or Lublin's exuberance? The big questions before the final of the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup men

Cucine Lube Civitanova have already won all the European competitions, but one more trophy is never a bad proposition, therefore the Italian side will be going full throttle against Bogdanska LUK Lublin in the last act of the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup Men.

The italian side were the favourites to secure the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup Men before the start of the season and they did not disappoint, winning all the eight matches played so far, dropping only two sets on their way to the final.

Their only sets dropped were in the 8th finals, against Karađorđe Topola and in the quarter-finals against Lycurgus Groningen, but they bounced back each time and won the matches, delivering excellent performances.

On paper, Cucine Lube Civitanova will be the favourites in this match, judging by the experience and the depth they have, but their opponents, Bogdanka LUK Lublin, are no pushovers.

The Polish side also won all their eight matches and dropped only two sets, both in the 8th finals, against French side Tourcoing Lille Metropole, winning both matches, 3:1 and 3:1.

And with Massimo Botti as coach, the former coach of Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza, who featured as a player in the Italian leagues throughout his whole career, Lublin have another ace upon their sleeve, as Botti knows inside out the intricacies of his opponent.

Nevertheless, Cucine Lube Civitanova are coming after a disappointing loss in the Italian league, in the first match of the play-offs against Allianz Milano, 2:3, with that loss putting them in danger of missing out a place in the top-4, which was a big objective.

“We, for our part, will absolutely have to raise the level of play in the next matches, and the positive note is that we have time to do so. Today we only lost the first round. Now, however, we focus on the important away match on Wednesday in Poland for the first leg of the Challenge Cup Final, which as such represents one of the most important matches of the season for us,” said Civitanova’s star, Marko Podrascanin, after the loss against Milano.

Civitanova’s Eric Loeppky is the 10th best scorer of the eason, with 90 points in 21 sets played, averaging 4.29 points per set, while Lublin have a true star in their roster, Wilfredo Leon, the MVP of the CEV EuroVolley 2023 Men, who has scored 66 points so far, having an average of 4.4 points per match.

Lublin, which are now fourth in the Polish league, have won the last seven matches on the trot in all competitions before the first leg of the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup Men, their maiden appearance in the last act of an European competition, scheduled for Wednesday, 12 March, at 20:30 CET.