Reigning champions on duty in high-octane CEV Volleyball Cup Men semi-finals

The reigning champions in the CEV Volleyball Cup Men, Asseco Resovia Rzeszów, and the reigning CEV Champions League Men winners, Trentino Itas, are still in the hunt for the trophy in the CEV Volleyball Cup Men, as both sides will host the first leg of the semi-finals, scheduled for this Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

Since the current format of the CEV Volleyball Cup Men has been introduced in the 2007/08 season, no team has defended their trophy, but Asseco Resovia Rzeszów will be aiming to secure that performance, as the Polish side are riding an eight-match winning streak entering the semi-final against Tours VB.

So far, Asseco Resovia Rzeszów have lost only three sets, two of which came in the previous phase of the competition, in the quarter-finals against Fenerbahçe Medicana Istanbul, with both matches ending with the Polish side’s win, 3:1.

On paper, Asseco Resovia Rzeszów will be favoured, as Tours VB have already conceded two losses and faced some difficult challenges on their way to a semi-finals berth. In 16th round, Tours lost three sets against Swiss side, Volley Schönenwerd, taking 3:2 and 3:1 wins.

Then, they eliminated Mladost Zagreb, with two wins, 3:1 and 3:0, before facing another Swiss side, Volley Amriswil, in the play-offs, winning the first leg, 3:1, only to qualify after a 2:3 loss in the second leg.

In the quarter-finals, Tours were down 2:0 at sets and 21:17 in the third set against Knack Roeselare, but mounted one of the greatest comebacks in the last decade, taking the first leg 3:2, doubling down with a clear 3:0 win in the second leg. 

Before the first leg of the semi-finals against Tours, scheduled for Tuesday, 11 March, at 17:30 CET, Asseco Resovia Rzeszów have a 13-match winning streak in all competitions, winning the last match on Saturday, 3:1 against Slepsk Suwalki, in the Polish league.

The other semi-final will see a crunch clash between the reigning CEV Champions League Men winners, Trentino Itas, and Turkish powerhouse Ziraat Bank Ankara, the first meeting between the two sides which are used to the top tier European competition.

Trentino were the big favourites to win the competition, especially as they missed out on a Champions League place after finishing fourtn last season in the Italian league, winning seven out of eight matches, with their only loss coming against SL Benfica, 2:3.

With two clear wins over Chaumont VB 52 in the quarter-finals, Trentino delivered a good performance and fueled their fire with another 3:0 win over Cisterna in the play-offs of the Italian league, as they aim to finish the season better than they did in the previous one.

But Ziraat Bank Ankara are their toughest opponent so far, as the Turkish side aim for their third European Cup final, after being runners-up in the CEV Volleyball Cup in the 2017/18 final and in the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup in the 2020/21 season.

Ziraat Bank Ankara are the leaders of the Turkish league, with only three losses in 23 matches, the last one coming this Saturday, 1:3, against Alanya, and have won eight matches on the trot in this year’s CEV Volleyball Cup Men, conceding only six sets, including two against ACH Volley Ljubljana in the second leg of the quarter-finals.

The first leg of the semi-final between Trentino and Ziraat Bank Ankara is scheduled for Wednesday, 12 March, at 20:30 CET.