#RoadToTorino continues with star-studded quarterfinal fixtures
News
Eight elite teams are still in contention for continental glory as the #RoadToTorino resumes this week with the first round of the quarterfinals in the men’s CEV Champions League Volley. A Polish derby between PGE Projekt WARSZAWA and rookies Bogdanka LUK LUBLIN will be opening the programme on Tuesday late afternoon followed by a repeat of the group phase matches between Spanish sensation Guaguas LAS PALMAS and titleholders Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA. On Wednesday, two-time #CLVolleyM winners Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA will host last year’s silver medal winners Aluron CMC Warta ZAWIERCIE and Asseco Resovia RZESZÓW will take on the top-performing side from this year’s pool phase, Türkiye’s Ziraat Bankkart ANKARA.
PGE Projekt WARSZAWA (POL) vs. Bogdanka LUK LUBLIN (POL)
Whoever wins this highly anticipated ‘double derby’ will become the sixth different Polish club to reach the Final Four (semis) of the CEV Champions League!
Even though these two teams play each other for the very first time in a European or international competition, they obviously know each other very well from the domestic arena. Bogdanka LUK LUBLIN won all their three matches against PGE Projekt WARSZAWA this season: 3-0 and 3-1 in the regular season of the Polish League and 3-2 (19-17 in a fifth set) in a friendly match played in October 2025. Mateusz Malinowski (15) and Jakub Wachnik (13) scored the most points for Bogdanka LUK LUBLIN in their 3-0 home win on 23 December. Brandon Koppers had 18 points for PGE Projekt WARSZAWA in that game. In the reverse fixture on 8 March, Wilfredo Leon (18) led Bogdanka LUK LUBLIN in scoring, while Bartosz Bednorz had 14 points for PGE Projekt WARSZAWA.
Last season, PGE Projekt WARSZAWA had won both regular league encounters with Bogdanka LUK LUBLIN (3-1, 3-2). In 2023/2024, PGE Projekt WARSZAWA defeated Bogdanka LUK LUBLIN in the quarterfinals of the Polish PlusLiga after a 15-12 Golden Set victory (3-1, 0-3, 15-12). These two teams will now take their rivalry to the European stage.
If successful, PGE Projekt WARSZAWA would reach the Final Four (semis) for the first time. This is their second appearance in the quarterfinals as last season the club was eliminated by Halkbank ANKARA after losing the Golden Set 12-15 (1-3 away loss, 3-0 home win).
In the previous stage of the competition, PGE Projekt WARSZAWA defeated TRENTINO Itas after a Golden Set victory (2-3, 3-2, 15-11). They had previously won three and lost three of their group matches – a much worse result than their immaculate record from Round 4 in the 2024/2025 season. Five of their eight matches in the current Champions League season went into a fifth set, including each of their last four games. The team from the Polish capital city has won two and lost three of those matches.
As Projekt WARSZAWA they won the 2024 Challenge Cup after defeating Mint Vero Volley MONZA twice in the Final (3-1, 3-1).
Yurii Semeniuk has recorded 26 kill blocks in the 2026 Champions League – second-most of all players. Bartosz Bednorz is his team’s top scoring player with 127 points. He became the club’s first and so far only member to score at least 100 points in a single #CLVolleyM season. Linus Weber (94), Semeniuk (80) and Kévin Tillie (80) are closing in on 100 points in this campaign. Bednorz won the Champions League with Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE in 2023. Jakub Kochanowski and Michal Kozlowski achieved the same feat with the same team – in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Kamil Nalepka, who took over the reins of the team from the Polish capital city in late January, was an assistant coach at Bogdanka LUK LUBLIN in the 2022/2023 season.
If they were to make it through the quarterfinals, Bogdanka LUK LUBLIN would reach the Final Four (semis) in their debut season in the CEV Champions League. They can become the first team to achieve this feat since Halkbank ANKARA did so in 2014 (they finished second in their group, but were named as hosts of the Final Four). The last club to reach the Final Four (or semis) in their debut campaign after having gone through all rounds was TRENTINO BetClic in 2009. The Italians won the trophy that season.
Bogdanka LUK LUBLIN won all six group matches this Champions League season. At this point they are the only club in Champions League history with a 100% winning record. Three clubs won their first-ever seven Champions League matches: TRENTINO BetClic (15; all 12 games in 2008/2009 and first three in 2009/2010), PARIS Volley (seven in in 2000/2001) and Kerakoll MODENA (seven in 2002/2003).
Bogdanka LUK LUBLIN won their first Polish league title last season. They also won the 2025 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup in their first-ever season in a European competition. They have a record of 15 wins and one loss only across all their European matches (10 in 2024/2025, six in 2025/2026). Their only defeat was 2-3 against Cucine Lube CIVITANONA in the return of the Challenge Cup Final last season. Moreover, Bogdanka won the Polish Super Cup and the Polish Cup in the current season.
Wilfredo Leon is Bogdanka LUK LUBLIN’s top scorer this season with 123 points. He was also their top scorer in last season’s Volleyball Challenge Cup (113). Leon was the overall Champions League top scorer in 2015/2016 (175 points for Zenit KAZAN). He won the Champions League four times in a row, all with Zenit KAZAN from 2015 to 2018. Rafał Prokopczuk is also a former winner of the CEV Champions League – he did so in 2021 with Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN KOŹLE. As a player, their head coach Stéphane Antiga won the first edition of the Champions League in 2001 with PARIS Volley.
Guaguas LAS PALMAS (ESP) vs. Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA (ITA)
Guaguas LAS PALMAS and Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA locked horns in the group stage of the competition contested earlier this season when the Italians won both matches (3-2 away and 3-1 at home). Francisco Wallyson Bezerra Souza scored 23 and 16 points respectively for the Spaniards in those games, while Wassim Ben Tara recorded 22 and 16 points for the Italian side. Never has a Spanish team won a Champions League match against Italian opponents, as their record stands at 24 losses in just as many matches. Therefore, Guaguas would rewrite history and spring a sensation if they were to beat the titleholders from Perugia.
The Spaniards have reached the Champions League quarterfinals for the second time, after doing so in 2024. They hope to become the first Spanish club to reach the Final Four (or semis) in the men’s Champions League. On the women’s side, CV TENERIFE and CAV MURCIA 2005 (as hosts in 2008) have achieved this feat. CV TENERIFE won the women’s Champions League in 2004 when they hosted the Final Four (curiously they beat Pallavolo Sirio PERUGIA in the Final).
The Spaniards reached this season’s group phase after defeating MÁV Foxconn SZÉKESFEHÉRVÁR (3-1, 3-0 in the 1st Round), Olympiacos PIRAEUS (3-1, 3-0 in the 2nd Round) and Levski SOFIA (3-0, 3-0 in the 3rd Round). They can become the first team to reach the Final Four (or semis) after having gone through three early rounds. In 2020/2021 TRENTINO Itas reached the Super Final after having gone through two early rounds (under current PERUGIA head coach Angelo Lorenzetti).
Guaguas LAS PALMAS edged wildcard holders MONTPELLIER HSC VB in the Playoff round. The Spaniards previously won three and lost three of their group matches this season. They had the same record in their other group phase appearance in 2023/2024. When they reached the quarterfinals in 2024, they were eliminated after losing the Golden Set 7-15 to Ziraat Bank ANKARA (1-3 loss at home, 3-0 away win, 7-15 Golden Set loss). They lost to the same opponents in last season’s CEV Cup Playoff round.
As they chase a historic spot in the Final Four, Guaguas LAS PALMAS can rely on a good omen – they have won eight of their last nine home matches in the Champions League. The only exception was the 2-3 loss against Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA in this season’s group phase. Their opposite Francisco Wallyson Bezerra Souza has scored 194 points in total in this Champions League campaign, fourth-most of all players, after Tonček Stern (236 for ACH Volley LJUBLJANA), Basil Dermaux (203 for Knack ROESELARE) and Théo Faure (195 for TRENTINO Itas). Osmany Juantorena (179) and Nicolas Bruno (152) are fifth and sixth respectively. From 2009/2010 to 2018/2019, the legendary Juantorena reached the Champions League Final Four (or semis) eight times with his clubs and the Final five times. He won three Champions League trophies: with TRENTINO BetClic in 2010 and 2011, and with Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA in 2019.
Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA are the defending #CLVolleyM champions. They won their first Champions League trophy last season after a 3-2 win against Aluron CMC Warta ZAWIERCIE in the gold medal match. It was the second Champions League gold medal game for the Italian team, after they had lost the Final in 2017 (0-3 as Sir Sicoma Colussi PERUGIA against Zenit KAZAN). Across their 10 appearances in the competition this far, the club from Umbria reached the Final Four (semis) in seven seasons. Moreover, they have a terrific record of 82 wins to 15 losses in the competition this far. This figure includes 10 wins in their last 10 Champions League matches. The club had one longer winning run in the competition: 11 wins from November 2017 to April 2018.
Earlier this season, Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA added another accolade to their cabinet as they won the FIVB Men’s Club World Championship held in Brazil after a 3-0 win against Japan’s OSAKA Bluteon in the Final. Wassim Ben Tara (71 points) was the tournament’s joint-top scorer. Ben Tara is also Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA’s top scorer in this season’s Champions League (86 points). Their star setter Simone Giannelli was named MVP of the 2025 Champions League and Best Setter as he won his first Champions League trophy. Moreover, in 2025 as well, Giannelli and middle blocker Roberto Russo won not only the Champions League and the FIVB Club World Championship with Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA, but also the FIVB World Championship title with Italy.
Apart from last year’s triumph with PERUGIA, Kamil Semeniuk won the Champions League also in 2021 and 2022 with Poland’s Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN KOŹLE. Libero Massimo Colaci has achieved this feat twice, albeit 14 years apart: with TRENTINO BetClic in 2011, and last season with Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA. Coach Angelo Lorenzetti won his first Champions League trophy last season. He has reached the gold medal match (or Super Final) of the Champions League five times (2003, 2008, 2021, 2022, 2025), and with four different clubs: Kerakoll MODENA (2003), Copra PIACENZA (2008), TRENTINO Itas (2021, 2022) and Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA (2025). Under his guidance, Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA have won 24 of their 25 international matches across the CEV Champions League and Club World Championship. The only defeat has been a 2-3 home loss at the hands of Halkbank ANKARA in last season’s Champions League Round 4.
Massimo Colaci, libero of PERUGIA: “We are focused on our side of the net and on executing our game plan. In my opinion, this is a very strong team with a lot of talent. There are several Argentine players in their roster – we know them well for their competitiveness and for never giving up on a single rally. They have very clear features: they do not give away any free points and play excellent defence, which means you often have to win the same rally multiple times to score. You need to be fully aware of that, because it can be frustrating if you are not patient. We have already faced them in the group stage, so we know what kind of match to expect. On our side, there is a strong desire to reach the Final Four, but I am sure they feel the same. It may be their first time at this stage, but they have experienced players who have already played in high-stake matches, so they understand what it takes to compete at this level.”
Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA (ITA) vs. Aluron CMC Warta ZAWIERCIE (POL)
After a national league regular season filled with ups and downs, where they eventually finished only sixth in the standings, Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA resume their Champions League journey in high spirits, following their qualification for the SuperLega semi-finals. In the best-of-five quarterfinal series, Giampaolo Medei’s team eliminated TRENTINO Itas in just three matches, winning two of them away from home. In the semi-finals, they will now face Rana VERONA.
In this matchup against ZAWIERCIE, the Italians will have to break what has been a real taboo in recent years: in the last five editions of the CEV Champions League they have featured in, CIVITANOVA has always fallen just short of the final stage after being defeated by Polish teams, namely Grupa Azoty KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE and JASTRZEBSKI Węgiel. When hosting Aluron CMC Warta ZAWIERCIE, the Italian team will lock horns with Mateusz Bieniek, the Polish middle blocker who wore the Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA jersey in the 2019/2020 season, winning the FIVB Men’s Club World Championship in the process. Another familiar face for Lube is Aaron Russell, who, before moving to the Polish league, faced Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA many times while playing for Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA.
A large crowd is expected on Wednesday evening at the Eurosuole Forum in Civitanova Marche. Ticket sales are going very well, with many requests coming from Volleyball clubs across central Italy.
Wout D’Heer, middle blocker of Cucine Lube: “A very important match is approaching, one that grants access to the CEV Champions League Final Four. It is good for us that we closed the SuperLega playoff series against TRENTINO in three matches, because it allows us to balance rest and targeted training ahead of the two matches against ZAWIERCIE. My morale is also high because I am happy to have made such a good impact with my serving against Itas at a difficult moment, and I cannot wait to get on the court against the Polish side. There is no risk of underestimating them because they are leading their league, which in my opinion, together with the SuperLega, is the toughest in Europe. We are talking about an experienced club with great potential, which reached the Champions League Final Four last year. I expect a very tight contest. We will try to secure a good result here in Civitanova and then fight it out in the return leg in Poland.”
Asseco Resovia RZESZÓW (POL) vs. Ziraat Bankkart ANKARA (TUR)
Asseco Resovia RZESZÓW and Ziraat Bankkart ANKARA have never met in the Champions League before. However, these two teams contested the Final of the 2025 CEV Cup with the Turkish club winning 3-2 away (19-17 in the fifth set) and 3-1 at home. Of the players top scoring in those matches, only Lukas Vasina (Resovia) is still competing for the same club this season. Moreover, Asseco Resovia faced Turkish opposition in the 2009/2010 Champions League as well, when they beat ISTANBUL B.Sehir Belediyesi 3-1 away and 3-0 at home in the group phase. On the other hand, Ziraat Bankkart ANKARA have a record of five wins and three losses against Polish clubs in the Champions League. They were eliminated in both their knockout rounds versus Polish opposition: against PGE Skra BELCHATOW in the Playoffs 12 in 2015/2016 (1-3, 3-2) and versus JASTRZEBSKI Węgiel in the 2023/2024 semis (0-3, 2-3).
Asseco Resovia RZESZÓW can reach the Final Four (or semis) for the third time, after 2015 (finished runners up to Zenit KAZAN) and 2016, when they hosted the Final Phase (played in Krakow) and finished fourth. Resovia defeated Knack ROESELARE 3-0 and 3-1 in this season’s Playoff round. They had survived the group phase for the first time since 2016/2017, when they lost against Azimut MODENA.
Asseco Resovia RZESZÓW had a record of threw wins and three losses in this season’s group phase. They won their three home games all in straight sets, but they lost all three away matches by a 1-3 score. Karol Butryn (99) is Asseco Resovia RZESZÓW’s top scorer in this Champions League season. The last player to score at least 100 points for the club in a Champions League campaign was John Gordon Perrin in 2016/2017 (102 points). Butryn played for Aluron CMC Warta ZAWIERCIE in last season’s Champions League gold medal match against Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA. Marcin Janusz and Erik Shoji both won the Champions League with Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN KOŹLE in 2022 and 2023 – as did Pawel Zatorski with that same team in 2021. Janusz (60.58%) has the second-highest efficiency as setter in this season’s Champions League, only behind Cucina Lube CIVITANOVA’s Santiago Orduna (67.57%).
Asseco Resovia RZESZÓW received a wild card to enter this season’s Champions League. Halkbank ANKARA and MONTPELLIER HSC VB were the other two teams who received a wild card, but they are already eliminated. Before returning to the #CLVolleyM this season, Resovia had reached the final of the CEV Cup in the past two seasons: they won the trophy in 2024 (versus SVG LÜNEBURG) and they finished runners-up in 2025 (lost the Final against Ziraat Bank ANKARA). The club also reached the Final of the CEV Cup in 2012 (which they lost to Russia’s Dinamo MOSCOW).
As for their Turkish rivals, Ziraat Bankkart ANKARA can now become the first club to reach the Champions League Final Four (or semis) after having won the CEV Cup in the previous season, since BERLIN Recycling Volleys did so in 2016/2017 (they had won the CEV Cup in 2016). The club won all six #CLVolleyM group matches in 2023/2024 and went on to reach the semis in that campaign, in which they were eliminated by JASTRZEBSKI Węgiel (0-3, 2-3).
Ziraat Bankkart ANKARA won all six matches in this season’s Round 4 as well. Their 18 points was the most of all teams in the group phase. They can now win seven successive Champions League matches for the second time, after registering seven straight victories in 2023/2024 (they won six group games and the first leg in the quarterfinals).
Nimir Abdel-Aziz (138) is Ziraat Bankkart ANKARA’s top scorer in this Champions League season. He returned to the Turkish club this season, after he had a spell there in 2013/2014. Only Wouter ter Maat scored more points for Ziraat Bankkart ANKARA in a Champions League season: 167 points in 2023/2024 and 143 points in 2022/2023. Abdel-Aziz was the Champions League top scorer in 2020/2021 (209 points for TRENTINO Itas). Abdel-Aziz has yet to win a European trophy. He won the Asian Champions League in 2021/2022 (with Iran’s Peykan Tehran) and 2024/2025 (with Qatar’s Al-Rayyan Sports Club). He was named MVP and Best Opposite of the 2024/2025 AVC Champions League.
While wearing the shirt of JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel, Tomasz Fornal finished among the top 10 scoring players in each of the last four Champions League seasons. His club reached the Final Four (or semis) in each of those four seasons. This season Fornal has scored 83 points for Ziraat Bankkart ANKARA so far.