Perugia Said Goodbye To Italian Playoffs, Semifinal Series Were Tied in Poland

The national playoff action continued across Europe this week with intense battles for a place in the domestic finals. For the #CLVolleyM semifinalists, the road was far from smooth. In Italy, Perugia’s journey came to an end after another defeat to Civitanova in the decisive semifinal clash. Meanwhile in Poland, both Jastrzębski and Warta Zawiercie bounced back with important victories to tie their semifinal series at 1-1.

In the Italian SuperLega, CEV Champions League Volley semifinalists Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia took the court for a crucial fifth match against Cucine Lube Civitanova. With a spot in the national final at stake, the atmosphere was electric. Perugia came out strong, edging a thrilling first set, but Civitanova quickly regrouped and elevated their level of play. Dominating the remainder of the match, Civitanova completed a 3-1 victory (27-29, 25-19, 25-17, 25-22) and ended Perugia’s hopes of a domestic title.

Turkish opposite Adis Lagumdzija starred for Civitanova, leading all scorers with 18 points, including four aces. Wassim Ben Tara’s 15 points for Perugia were not enough to stop the Civitanova surge. The Italian title will now be decided between Cucine Lube Civitanova and Itas Trentino, with the final series beginning on April 27.

Over in Poland, the PlusLiga semifinals resumed with second-leg matches. The #CLVolleyM semifinalist and the regular season leaders Jastrzębski Węgiel responded to their opening loss with a resilient 3-1 win on the road against Bogdanka LUK Lublin (31-29, 15-25, 25-20, 25-22). A marathon first set set the tone, and despite a dip in the second, Jastrzębski found their rhythm to close out the match and level the series.

Polish opposite Łukasz Kaczmarek was named MVP after a well-rounded 18-point showing that included two aces and a block. Wilfredo León led all scorers with 20 points, adding three aces and three blocks, but his individual effort wasn’t enough for Lublin to secure a second win.

In the other semifinal, Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie and PGE Projekt Warszawa delivered another five-set thriller. This time, it was Zawiercie who stormed to a 2-0 lead, only to be pushed to a decider by a fighting Warszawa side. In a nerve-wracking final set, Zawiercie held their nerve to take the win and tie the series (25-14, 25-22, 23-25, 22-25, 16-14).

Portuguese setter Miguel Tavares Rodriguez was awarded MVP for his orchestration of the Zawiercie attack, while Bartosz Kwolek delivered 18 points. Linus Weber matched that output for Warszawa, but it wasn’t enough to clinch the series.

With both Polish semifinal series tied 1-1, the final round will be decided in the third-leg matches set for tomorrow. Meanwhile, Italy’s finalists are locked in, and Perugia’s focus now shifts entirely to the #CLVolleyM semifinals.