Polish night in the CLVolleyM. Warszawa and Zawiercie earn their second wins

The second leg of the CEV Champions League Volley 2025 - Men was concluded on Thursday night with away wins delivered by the Polish clubs - PGE Projekt Warszawa and Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, who upset ACH Volley Ljubljana and Knack Roeselare, respectively. Both games turned into a tight battles enhanced with impressive performances from several players, including MVPs - Kevin Tillie and Karol Butryn.

ACH Volley LJUBLJANA - PGE Projekt WARSZAWA 1-3 (21:25, 19:25, 26:24, 17:25)

The match in Ljubljana had a clear favourite, however the hosts were highly-motivated to deliver a great volleyball show to their fans. Despite a bit shaky start (3-6), ACH Volley were determined to make up the gap and after a series of great plays, they not only tied at 8-8, but with Finish veteran Mikko Esko on the service line, they jumped to 11-8, having Amir Mohammad Golzadeh as a leader of the team (5 points in the opener). Ljubljana kept the advantage up to 14-12, then Warszawa stepped up. A great service run from Jan Firlej, completed with spikes from Linus Weber made the guests scoring five consecutive points and moving to 19-15. Ljubljana tried to fight back, but they were unable to stop Projekt, who sealed the set win with an ace from Jakub Kochanowski. Linus Weber played flawless in this set, having 100% success in attack and turning all seven attempts into the points.

Warszawa kept the momentum and in no time took a significant lead. Artur Szalpuk contributed with a great service run and together with Jakub Kochanowski showed the power of Projekt's block (2 and 3 block stuffs, respectively), taking the team to 18-11 lead. Kevin Tillie took on the burden of attack in the second set, scoring 5 points in this element. On ACH Volley's side, Sen Klemen went from the bench, contributing with points to help his team to shorten the distance a bit, but eventually Warszawa closed the set 25-19. The third part was competitive at the very beginning (5-5), then it looked that Projekt Warszawa took control over the scoreboard again (10-6), but the hosts sparked by the local crowd were determined to extend the game. ACH Volley pushed on Projekt and after Jan Pokersnik's spike they tied at 17-17. Mikko Esko again delivered a great service run and together with his teammates moved Ljubljana to a 20-17 lead. After a few thrilling rallies, ACH Volley had their first set points at 24-22, both were denied by Warszawa, however once a third opportunity arose, they closed the set after too long spike from Artur Szalpuk. It was a cold shower for Projekt Warszawa, who again had an early 11-6 lead. This time, however, they stayed focused and fully controlled the situation on the court (16-8) to prevail in the fourth set after Tillie's spike. The French outside hitter topped the scores' chart with 16 points to his name (5 blocks, 11 spikes - 48% success in attack) and was named the MVP. Tillie was followed by Jakub kochanowski and Artur Szalpuk who contributed with 13 points apiece. On Ljubljana's side Amir Gozadeh scored 15.

Knack ROESELARE - Aluron CMC Warta ZAWIERCIE 0-3 (17:25, 23:25, 23:25)

Last week Knack Roeselare were close to upset Milano and definitely this boosted their confidence ahead of the match-up against Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie. Although the powerful spikes from Aaron Russel and Bartosz Kwolek took the Polish side to 7-3 lead in the opening set, Knack kept their heads up and rolled their sleeves up to reduce the gap. They managed to tie at 8-8 with Basil Dermaux' service run, but along with their fans, they got upset from Zawiercie, who started to build-up their advantage again. Impressive service runs from Jurii Gladyr and Miguel Tavares and big spikes from Kwolek (100% success in attack with 5 points in this element), moved the guests to 18-11, improving it further to 23-15. Ace from Jurii Gladyr closed the opener 25-17. 

Knack Roeselare were aware that they have to improve their game to stand up to Zawiercie. Despite being down 4-7, Knack led by Seppe Rotty and Basil Dermaux tied at 8-8, trying to continue the game on point-by-point basis. Unfortunately, they kept the pace with their rival only until 12-12. Then with a great set by Miguel Tavares, who distributed the ball, using the potential of all his spikers, Zawiercie moved to 15-12. Karol Butryn stood out in this set, becoming Zawiercie's leader (8 points). Both teams delivered a few breath-taking rallies with amazing saves and continued to fight hard for every point, however it was Zawiercie staying on the lead (22-18). Knack stayed persistent, chasing their rival and were a step from equalling the score again (23-22), but they didn't use the chance. Mateusz Bieniek's attack from the middle of the court sealed the deal 25-23. The third set was the most competitive. Neither team was able to get any bigger advantage, delivering a great point-by-point battle. Mathijs Verhanneman and Basil Dermaux were main power guns of Knack, having Aaron Russel and Karol Butryn on the opposite side. The 'status quo' ended once the teams entered the decisive phase of the set. Solid spikes from Karol Butryn moved Zawiercie to 24-21, once it was Aaron Russel to give the last touch and close the game (25-23). The MVP award was presented to Karol Butryn, who hammered 14 points (11 attacks - 50% success, 3 aces). Bartosz Kwolek and Aaron Russel tallied 11 and 10 points, respectively. On Knack's side Basil Dermaux and Seppe Rotty were top scorers with 13 and 12 points.