There can be only two: Dramatic 2nd round sets the tone for the 3rd round in #CLVolleyM

Only four teams are still alive in the hunt for a place in the 4th round of this season’s CEV Champions League Men, after some dramatic matches in the second round of the qualification for the top European competition.

Experienced Slovenian side ACH Volley Ljubljana needed a miraculous comeback to pull back after losing the first match against Dinamo București, 1:3, and they did just that, with a mirrored 3:1 win (25:13; 19:25; 25:19; 25:19), which pushed the tie into the golden set.

Returning to Slovenia after a decade, opposite Tonček Štern shined for ACH Volley, with 34 points, helping his team secure a 15:10 win in the golden set, as Dinamo were left reeling in their attempt to reach the pool phase of the European premium competition, as they were thoroughly dominated.

The Slovenian side will meet Serbian side Radnički Kragujevac in the third round, in a winner-takes-all scenario, after Kragujevac disposed of Austrian side TSV Raiffeisen Hartberg. In the first leg, Kragujevac took a 3:2 win in Austria, but in the second leg there was no question about the winner.

Mladen Bojovic had 25 of his team’s 75 points in the 3:0 win (25:23; 25:14; 25:18), as Kragujevac now made it four out of four wins in the qualification for this season’s CEV Champions League Men.

A big surprise was dished by Guaguas Las Palmas, which eliminated last season’s quarter-finalists, Olympiacos Piraeus. After the first leg won by Las Palmas, 3:1, Olympiacos attempted a comeback, but there was no question about the winner, with the Spanish side dominating clearly, 3:0 (25:10; 25:23; 25:21). 

The Spanish side will face off with Levski Sofia in the battle for a place in the 4th round, after the Bulgarian team thoroughly dominated Mursa Osijek in the second leg, with a clear 3:0 win (25:18; 25:21; 26:24).

Only two of the four teams will progress to the next phase, with the doubleheaders scheduled for 19 and 26 November.