Unbeaten powerhouses falter in the first leg of the #CLVolleyM quarter-finals

Three teams entered the quarter-finals of the CEV Champions League Men unbeaten and only one emerged unscathed after the first legs, as both Jastrzębski Węgiel and PGE Projekt Warszawa conceded losses in their away matches, making the qualification for the Final Four in Łódź problematic.

The biggest surprise was Jastrzębski Węgiel’s loss against Olympiacos Piraeus, especially after the Polish side enjoyed a 2:0 lead, taking the first two sets, 25:20 and 25:21, against the Greek champions.

Olympiacos, which returned to the quarter-finals of the European premium competition for the first time in 23 years, and is the team with the largest number of matches played so far this season, 15, having to go through three Qualification Rounds, came back thanks to a fantastic support from their fans in the “Melina Merkouri” Arena in Rentis.

With John Gordon Perrin scoring 25 points, backed by Aleksandar Atanasijevic (17 points) and Alen Pajenk (14 points), the Greek side took the next two sets, 25:14  and 25:20, setting up the decider against the runners-up of the previous two seasons.

While Jastrzębski Węgiel still led after the first nine points, 5:4, Olympiacos came back and with a 73% attacking efficiency in the last set, took the 15:12 win, delivering a fantastic performance against one of the title contenders, with the second leg, in Poland, now even more fiery.

“Today was an incredibly difficult game. This team is fantastic and plays at a very high level. It was a great challenge for my team. The guys played like crazy and we played like a real team. We have faced a lot of problems throughout with injuries. Today I'm very happy, we played at home which was full of our people. Their support was crazy and we thank them! Now we'll see in a week,” said Olympiacos’ coach, Andrea Gardini.

Another big shock was PGE Projekt Warzsawa’s loss against Halkbank Ankara, as the Polish side, the team with the best record between the pool winners in the 4th round, conceded more sets than they did in the entire previous phase of the competition, as well as the first loss of the season.

Ankara dominated the match from start to finish, with Yoandy Leal Hidalgo shining for the Turkish side, with 23 points, as their top scorer, Marek Sotola, added 18 more points, while Dick Kooy, another sharpshooter, enjoyed a good outing, with 15 points. 

While Ankara took the first set, 25:20, Warszawa came roaring back and dominated the second set, 25:22. Ankara’s penchant and strong mentality for close matches, was decisive, though, in the end, as they took no prisoners in the third and fourth sets.

The Turkish side constantly frustrated their opponents, with Sotola adding three more blocks, as Warszawa had only one player, Bartlomiej Boladz, scoring more than 10 points. As both the third and the fourth set were only 22 minutes long, Ankara took a strong option for the Final Four berth in this doubleheader, taking the third and the fourth sets in dominating fashion, 25:15 and 25:18.

Now, Ankara need to win 'only' two more sets to qualify for the penultimate act of the compettion, as PGE Projekt Warszawa’s impressive campaign was derailed, with the Polish side needing a 3:0 or a 3:1 win to push the match in the golden set.

The Italian derby between Mint Vero Volley Monza and Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia produced another dramatic match full of twists and turns, as the latter side, which dominated the mutual encounters in the past years, had to sweat to secure the win.

Both sides won their pools in the 4th round, but Perugia did not lose a set until conceding the match against Halkbank Ankara in the last matchday, and, in the end, their experience and depth were on display against Monza, despite losing the first set, 19:25.

Perugia had five players score at least 10 points, led by Kamil Semeniuk, who had 17 points, posting a fantastic attacking efficiency in the next three sets, 67%, 71% and 54% respectively.

As Agustin Loser and Wassim Ben Tara added 12 more points each, Perugia had no issues in the second and third sets, which they took 25:16 and 25:17, before ensuring the win with a nip-and-tuck 27:25 win in the decider, when Monza led 21:18.

“The victory tonight is very important for us; we needed to start these Champions League quarter-finals with a win, and that’s what we did. Playing in Monza is never easy,  but we were good at containing their comeback. In a week, we’ll play the second leg, this time at our place,” said Semeniuk after Perugia’s win.

The surprise package of the competition, SVG Lüneburg, which eliminated fellow German side Berlin Recycling Volleys in the play-offs, had no chance against Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, with the first quarter-final also being the most lopsided match between the four.

Zawiercie are now the only unbeaten side in the competition, winning seven matches out of the seven they played, having totally outplayed their opponents in the first leg, conceding only 50 points in the three sets.

Karol Butryn had 15 points, backed by Zawiercie’s top scorer, Aaron Russell, with 13 points, as the match only lasted 71 minutes, with the Polish side posting an overall attacking efficiency of 56% in their 25:15; 25:21; 25:14 win.

“Yes, it's a huge advantage and I think it's hard to lose like this, with such a result as a team. They're going to play for their lives now, so we have to make sure we come out strong again and we have to be ready for them to play even better, much better. Even if we're playing in our own hall, we have to prepare for that,” said Russell at the end of the match.