Lukáš Vašina - the Czech revelation ready to shine in #CLVolleyM with Resovia

Czechia was undoubtedly the biggest revelation of the Men’s World Championship in the Philippines — and Lukáš Vašina stood at the heart of that success. With a blend of offensive firepower and defensive precision, Vašina became one of the breakout stars of the tournament. Having his talent shaped by his father, Vašina now carries that legacy forward as he prepares to take the court in the 2026 CEV Champions League Men with Asseco Resovia RZESZÓW.

Returning to Europe’s top-tier club competition, Asseco Resovia RZESZÓW will kick off their CEV Champions League 2026 | Men campaign in Pool D on December 12, facing their domestic rival and last edition’s runner-up, Aluron CMC Warta ZAWIERCIE. Their other pool opponents are SVG LUNEBURG and Sporting CP LISBOA.

The 26-year-old Czech prodigy, Lukáš Vašina - the third-best scorer (98 points) and second-best receiver of the World Championship - was introduced to volleyball through family tradition.

"I was born into a volleyball family. My brother played volleyball, my sister played volleyball, and my dad is a coach. I’ve trained since I was a kid. For one year I tried football, but I didn’t like it, so I came back," Vašina recalled.

"There were many pieces of advice he gave me, and many of them have stayed with me. But the most important one was that I should never give up - that I should always work hard and remember that everyone has ups and downs. It’s always easier to slip downward than to climb upward, so keep climbing," Vašina says.

After spending four seasons with VK CEZ Karlovarsko, the Czech outside hitter decided to take the next step and signed his first contract in the Polish league, joining Skra Bełchatów for the 2022/2023 season. Since then, he has continued his career in Poland, not only sharpening his volleyball skills but also mastering the Polish language.

"Playing in Poland has definitely helped me develop my career. When I came here for my first season with Skra Bełchatów, even when I wasn’t playing, I could still train alongside some of the best players in the world. When I think back to who I had next to me in Bełchatów — there were so many great players — it wasn’t too sad that I wasn’t getting time on the court. For me, the most important thing was that I could train with them. Later, I used my opportunity in GKS Katowice, where I had a very good season, " Vašina admits. "Resovia noticed me, and now I’m here for my second season. I’m really happy to play here, because it’s a big club with great possibilities and players who are among the best in the world in their positions. This season, we have world-class players at every position. For me, whether I play or not is less important. If I don’t play, I want to improve in training and play my best volleyball alongside the kind of players we have on this team."

Ahead of Round 4 of the CEV Champions League Volley 2026, Lukáš Vašina and Asseco Resovia Rzeszów have enjoyed a strong start to their domestic campaign, emerging as the only unbeaten team after the first five rounds. Although that momentum was halted by two consecutive defeats, the team still impressed with its early-season form.

"It’s always great to start the season with wins, and we had a streak of five victories in a row," Vašina says. "Now we’ve had two losses, and it’s a bit disappointing. After the first two sets against Zaksa, everyone was thinking about winning. But it didn’t work out - Zaksa started playing very well - and then we had a really tough loss at home against Zawiercie. A defeat no one expected - 3–0, in that style, that fast. But Zawiercie played very well, and we, in many aspects, not the way we should have. Still, there are many matches ahead of us where we’ll want to show what Resovia’s strength is this season."

Under new head coach Massimo Botti, and strengthened by the arrivals of Erik Shoji, Artur Szalpuk, Danny Demyanenko, and Marcin Janusz, Resovia appear to have significant potential this year. "Resovia’s strength is that we have a deep roster; we can use many players who are waiting on the bench for their chance," Vašina emphasized. “Since the beginning of the season, I’ve felt the support of all the guys. Everyone really supports one another, and that’s the most important thing."

Asseco Resovia Rzeszów, runners-up in the 2015 #CLVolleyM, return to Europe’s top-tier club competition to start their eighth campaign. For Vašina, however, this will be his third Champions League appearance after two earlier campaigns with Karlovarsko.

"For me, this will be the third opportunity to play in the Champions League, and I’m very happy about it, because playing in the Champions League is something incredible," he said. 

"Our expectations in the locker room are clear: we want to show our best volleyball, and we really want to advance from the group. The first match is against Zawiercie, who we recently lost to, so we definitely want to show better volleyball and improve compared to our last match. The next two teams, Lüneburg and Sporting, are also strong and play at a very high level, but our minimum goal is definitely to advance from the group," Lukáš Vašina admitted.

The summer of 2025 proved unforgettable for Czechia, making their first World Championship appearance since 2010 and reaching the top four - the nation’s greatest achievement since the Czechoslovakia era.

"I have so many good memories from that World Championship," Vašina said. "Before we flew out, people were saying it would be great just to get out of the group. We also read comments online doubting us - that we’d lose all matches 3–0 and embarrass Czech volleyball. That actually brought us closer together. We wanted to do something incredible - and we did," he recalls. "When we played Serbia, we told ourselves that Serbia wasn’t having their best season… So we told ourselves: if we’re going to win, it has to be against Serbia, today, at this World Championship. And then something amazing happened - we won 3–0, and I think that was the moment we believed we could do something more."

"Then we lost 3–0 to Brazil, and I was ashamed to be on the court because it didn’t look like we were playing volleyball at all. It looked like some sort of friendly match, and Brazil beat us in every aspect. But we bounced back, winning 3–0 against China and showing our quality. After that, it was one big fairy tale - we beat Tunisia 3–0, Iran 3–1, and made it into the final four. Nobody expected us to be among the top four teams in the world. It was the biggest achievement in the history of Czech volleyball. It was truly an incredible moment," admits Vašina. "The group of fans who supported us - and grew bigger with every match - was unbelievable. They gave us so much energy. It’s a pity we didn’t come back with a medal, but we knew that losing to Bulgaria would leave us almost no chance, because the next opponent would be Poland or Italy. We didn’t manage to win the semifinal, but I think we didn’t embarrass ourselves." 

Looking ahead, Vašina has set his ambitions even higher: "My biggest sports dream is to qualify for the Olympic Games with the Czech national team. I’m not 20 anymore - I’m 26 - so I think I still have two chances to make it happen. And if it doesn’t, then at least I want to improve on our World Championship result."

The year 2025 will remain unforgettable for Lukáš Vašina not only because of what happened on the court, but also because of a life-changing moment off it: in June, he became a father. "This new role definitely helped me on the court. When I went to the Philippines, I wanted my daughter, when she grows up, to be proud of her dad - not necessarily because she’ll play volleyball or not - but because she can say her dad finished fourth at the World Championship. And now, in the club, I also try to do my best so that she can be proud of her dad, proud of what he’s done on the court, and proud of what a cool father she has."