Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia stave off Zawiercie comeback to clinch maiden title in the #CLVolleyM

Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia secured their maiden title in the CEV Champions League Men, staving off a comeback from Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, in a worthy match for a final, a 3:2 (25:22; 25:22; 20:25; 22:25; 15:10) thriller which spanned over three hours.

It was a historic moment for both Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia and Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, with both teams fighting for their maiden title in the CEV Champions League Men. 

So far, Perugia had dropped a single match in the European premium competition this season, while Zawiercie had the chance to become the first team in six seasons to clinch the trophy without dropping a single match.

But who were the favourites? Perugia, with their absolutely fantastic depth? Or the experienced Zawiercie, which erased a two-set deficit on Saturday against Jastrzębski Węgiel to qualify for the final?

Obviously, it was always going to be a tight match and this is exactly what the two teams provided in the packed Atlas Arena in Łódź, going head-to-head until the end of the first set, with plenty of drama and a Zawiercie side constantly fighting to keep Perugia under the lid.

While Perugia did not have a highly better attack (42% to Zawiercie’s 36% attacking efficiency), the Italian side provided more kill blocks (four to two) and benefitted from an excellent match from Wassim Ben Tara and Yuki Ishikawa, who had 10 points between them.

But it was thanks to their fantastic depth that Perugia really pushed the pedal and snatched the first set. Substituted in late, Jesus Herrera served one ace and kept his serve for three consecutive points, enabling the Italian side to open a five-point gap, which proved crucial in the end, as they secured a 25:22 win.

Was the second set going to be any different?

Zawiercie know a thing or two about coming back from difficult situations and this is exactly what they tried to do here, delivering a storming start in the second set, 4:1.

After being substituted in the third set of the semi-final against Jastrzębski Węgiel, Aaron Russell came back with a bang and scored nine points in the second set, being Zawiercie’s main contributor.

The Polish side improved their attacking efficiency to 41% in the second set, while Karol Butryn scored an ace, with Zawiercie opening an 8:5 lead. Yet Perugia did not back down, as Ben Tara was in superb form, being seconded by Oleh Plotnytski, who had five points in the second set.

Yet Zawiercie were still in front, 17:15, with the window of opportunity for Perugia closing rapidly. But then, Ben Tara happened. With three fantastic sets – two aces in a row – he quickly changed the dynamic of the set.

With two consecutive points, Perugia took the lead, 22:20, and never looked back, winning 10 of the last 15 points, clinching the second set, 25:22, and moving away to a single set of the coveted trophy.

And, once again, Zawiercie were placed in the same dire situation like on Saturday, when they conceded the first two sets of the semi-final. Any misstep, any mistake would have rendered their title dream untenable, therefore the room for errors was small.

With Perugia dominating in every category, it was high time for the Polish team to step up and they tried to do exactly what they did on Saturday, with Bartosz Kwolek stepping up after some quiet first two sets.

But once again, Perugia were looking strong and in control, holding the lead throughout the set, as Zawiercie only took the lead once, 1:0. Nevertheless, the Italian side did not open a gap larger than two points, yet they were still up 15:13 and only 10 points away from their maiden title in the competition.

A team time-out called by the All-Star coach of the season, Michal Winiarski, managed to change the momentum, as Zawiercie took three consecutive points and after some excellent serves from Mateusz Bieniek, the Polish team took the lead, 18:16.

With Kwolek and Russell reaching 29 points between them, Zawiercie eventually took the set, 25:20, and put another magnificent comeback in a fairytale season on the cards.

The fourth set was a true roller-coaster, with the two sides trading blows constantly and none leading by more than two points until Zawiercie had a 16:15 lead, mostly thanks to some excellent attacks by Kwolek and Russell.

By that point, Russell, the former Perugia player, who spent three years at the Italian side, had 21 points, being the top scorer of the match. And with a strong finish to the set, with some excellent plays, Zawiercie pushed the match – the final of this season’s CEV Champions League Men – into the decider, with a 25:22 win in the fourth set.

With all the momentum shifting towards the Polish side, Perugia’s experienced players felt that they need to push the tempo up and with three consecutive serves of Yuki Ishikawa yielding points, they took a 5:1 lead, taking the air out of the packed Atlas Arena.

Russell stood out once again, linking up three consecutive points to cut the gap, but Perugia answered strongly and a pair of spikes by Ishikawa and Ben Tara opened a four-point lead, 10:6. 

Had Zawiercie the power for another comeback?

In short: no. The Polish side did cut the lead to two points, but eventually Perugia proved to be too strong, thanks to their excellent start in the fifth set, and with two consecutive points provided by Plotnytskyi, Perugia took the 15:10 win and the title.

It is the first title in the CEV Champions League Men in Perugia’s history, as well as the first won by coach Angelo Lorenzetti, who had previously lost the five finals played, a crowning achievement from the Italian side, which had previously finished in the top 4 of the CEV Champions League Men six times.