Powerhouses look for Final Four in crunch quarter-finals in the #CLVolleyM

The Final Four of the men’s CEV Champions League Volley Men will take place between 16 and 18 May in the iconic Atlas Arena in Łódź and the four participating teams will be known at the conclusion of the quarter-finals, whose first leg is scheduled this week, with four fantastic encounters ready to deliver some new shocks.

There are three Polish sides still in contention for the title, as well as two Italian sides and one team from Greece, Germany and Türkiye each, with a new champion due to be crowned, as the reigning champions, Trentino Itas, failed to make the cut for the competition this season, after finishing on the fourth place in the Italian league last season.

There will surely be an Italian team in the Final Four, as one of the quarter-finals oppose Mint Vero Volley Monza and Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia, the only teams from the Italian league still in contention, both having won their pools in the 4th round.

However, both sides have conceded one loss, with Perugia shockingly seeing Halkbank Ankara taking a 3:2 win in the last matchday of the 4th round, with Perugia also conceding their first sets this season, which saw them clinch the fourth place between the top placed sides in the five pools.

This will be the rematch of the Italian league final from the last season, as well as the rematch of the Italian Cup final, both clinched by Perugia, which did the double. Moreover, Perugia won the last four matches against Monza and eight of the past nine, totally outplaying their rivals.

But Monza have made a step back this season, avoiding relegation in the last matchday of the Italian league, with a 3:2 win over Cisterna, while Perugia have finished second and conceded only two losses in the 22 matches of the season.

Perugia have also never been eliminated in the quarter-finals of the CEV Champions League Men, making the semi-finals six times, but will return to this phase of the competition for the first time in two years. 

Last season’s runners-up, which also conceded the final two seasons ago, Polish side Jastrzębski Węgiel, have another chance to fight for the title, as they will be favoured against Olympiacos Piraeus, a team which reached the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2001/02 season.

However, the Greek side have won seven matches of the 13 played against Polish opponents and won their only knockout match against a Polish opponent, 3:1 against Monostal-Azoty Kedzierzyn in the semi-finals of the 2001/02 season.

Jastrzębski finished the 4th round as the third best pool winner, dropping only four sets, but they won six out of six on the way to the quarter-finals. A win against Olympiacos would see the Polish side advance to the semi-final for the fourth consecutive season and for the sixth time in their history.

The Polish side also have the best middle blocker of the season, with Norbert Huber topping the kill blocks standings, with 21 in the 4th round. He will surely have plenty of work to do against the two of the three top scorers of the season – Olympiacos’ leader Aleksandar Atanasijevic (223 points) and John Perrin, who is third in the top scorer standings, with 183 points.

PGE Projekt Warszawa are the big surprise of the season, having reached the knockout phases of the European premium competition for the first time in their history, in their fourth appearance.

The Polish side have an eight-match winning streak and were the top side in the competition in the 4th round, dropping only two sets and having a better set point ratio (1.265 opposed to 1.207) than second-placed Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie.

But Projekt Warszawa will have a tough clash against Halkbank Ankara, which are in the quarter-finals for the third consecutive season, after making it to the semi-finals in the first season and failed to qualify in the 2023/24 season, both times facing Italian side Cucine Lube Civitanova.

Ankara, which delivered Perugia their only loss of the season, have an excellent record in close matches, winning three of the golden sets they played in the CEV Champions League Men, as well as 10 of the last 12 matches which had a decider.

They have a reliable scorer in Marek Sotola, who scored 174 points and is coming in red hot form, with 55 points scored against Allianz Milano in the play-offs, while Warszawa rely on Artur Szalpuk, who has 79 points, and is close to the record of points scored by a player from the Polish side, set by Bartosz Kwolek in the 2020/21 season, with 80 points.

The Polish side conceded only two losses in the last 20 matches in all competitions, therefore will try to make the semi-finals for the first time in their history.

SVG Lüneburg are the surprise package of the competition so far, reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in history, despite conceding four losses in the eight matches played. But a 15:13 win in the golden set against domestic rivals, Berlin Recycling Volleys, was the one which tipped everything their way.

However, the quarter-final against Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie will be far from a walk in the park, with the doubleheader providing a maiden semi-finalist in the European premium competition.

In their second appearance in the CEV Champions League Men, Zawiercie have delivered good performances, winning six matches out of six and dropping only two sets, both in a 3:2 win against Allianz Milano.

Aaron Russell is Zawiercie’s top scorer this season, with 78 points, while Lüneburg’s top scorer, Xander Ketrzynski has 143 points, 47 coming in the play-offs against Berlin. 

Interestingly enough, Zawiercie’s coach, Michal Winiarski, is also the Germany men’s national team coach, having an insider’s view in German volleyball, which could boost Aluron’s chances of progressing to the Final Four.