Lublin's dream #CLVolleyM debut
Recap
Bogdanka LUK Lublin announced their arrival on Europe's biggest stage with a commanding debut in the CEV Champions League Volley 2026 - Men. The Polish champions thrilled their home crowd at Hala Globus Tomasz Wójtowicz in Lublin, overpowering Halkbank Ankara in straight sets, led by standout performances from Kewin Sasak and Wilfredo Leon.
Pool B: Bogdanka LUK LUBLIN vs. Halkbank ANKARA 3:0 (25:20, 25:14, 25:13)
Bogdanka LUK Lublin made a remarkable breakthrough last season, earning their first-ever Polish championship title and winning the Challenge Cup in their debut campaign in a CEV European competition. Now they are entering Europe’s elite volleyball stage. In their historic Champions League debut in front of their home crowd, they faced Halkbank Ankara, the team that finished last year’s CLVolleyM season in fourth place.
At the beginning of the first group-stage match of the CEV Champions League Volley 2026 - Men, at Hala Globus Tomasz Wójtowicz in Lublin, the hosts -backed by vivid support from the crowd - set the tone early, making the block their powerful weapon and quickly taking a 3-0 lead thanks to the efforts of Wilfredo Leon and Marcin Komenda. Step by step, Halkbank managed to close the gap (7-6; 12-11), driven by several strong actions from veteran Tsvetan Sokolov (7 points in the first set) and Yoandy Leal. Both teams then entered a tight race for every point. An ace from Ulas Kiyak tied the score for the first time in the match at 14-14, and from that moment Halkbank attempted to take the initiative. However, their momentum was quickly stopped. An ace from Leon (5 points in the opener) sparked a strong run for Lublin from 17-17 to 20-17. Under pressure, Halkbank failed to maintain flawless play, which Lublin efficiently capitalized on, recording 74% success in attack in the first set. A powerful spike from Kewin Sasak, who scored 7 points in the opener (88% success), sealed the set at 25-20.
Strong kills from Sasak and an ace from Fynnian McCarthy once again allowed Lublin to open the set with a 3-0 lead. Halkbank attempted to chase Bogdanka, but powered by the outstanding Sasak–Leon duo, the hosts maintained a three-point advantage (10-7). Although the team from Ankara responded with two consecutive points, an ace from Marcin Komenda pushed Lublin ahead to 13-9. From that moment, the hosts began to dominate on the court, extending their lead even further with Leon (6 points in the second set) at the service line and a powerful blocking performance led by Aleks Grozdanov (3 blocks), securing an impressive 19-10 advantage. Meanwhile, Halkbank continued to struggle in reception, dropping to just 26%. With such a comfortable lead, Bogdanka confidently closed out the second set, highlighted by a decisive block from Leon and Gyimah on Marek Sotola. Remarkably, Lublin registered eight killing blocks in this set alone.
Although Ankara opened the set with a 2-0 lead, Lublin immediately responded with a streak of six consecutive points, surging ahead 6-2 thanks to powerful spikes and blocks from Sasak and Leon - both of whom finished the set with seven points each. Lublin played like a speeding machine, with service runs from Leon and Grozdanov extending the lead to 13-4 and leaving Ankara completely helpless. Coach Radostin Stoytchev used both time-outs, but they brought no improvement, as his team struggled to find any response to Lublin's dominance (16-5). The #CLVolleyM rookies continued to excel in every element. Leon delivered two consecutive aces to push the score to 23-11, before Jackson Young's spike sealed the set 25-13 and closed the match.
The MVP award went to the match's top scorer, Kewin Sasak, who delivered 19 points, including 2 blocks, 2 aces, and 15 kills at an impressive 75% success rate. Wilfredo Leon followed closely with 18 points, recording 4 aces, 3 blocks, and 11 kills at 65% efficiency. Aleks Grozdanov and Jackson Young each contributed 7 points. On Halkbank's side, Tsvetan Sokolov finished with 8 points, while Yoandy Leal and Matey Kaziyski added 7 and 6 respectively.
Overall, Lublin dominated in every element of the game, outclassing their rivals 13–3 in blocking and 12–3 in serving.
Kewin Sasak"I feel amazing. We've just won our first-ever Champions League match, and for us, that means a lot. We're happy that we not only started well but stayed true to our game plan throughout the entire match. It’s a great debut for our team. But this is only the beginning of the Champions League journey. We know tough opponents are ahead, so we need to keep working hard."
MVP and player of Bogdanka LUK Lublin
Pool E: Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA (ITA) vs. MONTPELLIER HSC VB (FRA)
Starting at 20:30 CET, more information to come soon.