All-Polish Clash in the CEV Champions League Volley Play Offs
News
Six teams have qualified into the CEV Champions League Playoff at the end of the pool phase, only three will go on to the quarter finals. Among those six are reigning champions of the last two editions, Grupa Azoty Kędzierzyn-Koźle who will now be facing fellow Polish side, Aluron Warta Zawercie.
Rivals in Poland’s PlusLiga, the two clubs have shared the points in the regular season, each of them winning 3-1 on home court. Now, after 23 rounds, they find themselves next to each other in the standings, with Aluron CMC Warta in third and Grupa Azoty ZAKSA in fourth with 4 points less. This is however the first time they will be facing each other in a European competition and the stakes couldn’t be any higher.
If Grupa Azoty qualifies following the two matches from the playoff, they will be setting up yet another encounter with classic Champions League rivals, Trentino Itas, after 2 consecutive SuperFinals and the two matches of this season’s pool phase.
A win for Warta Zawercie could be surprising to the wider volleyball community, given their status going into these matches as the team qualified from the best 3rd place in their pool. However, if there is any team that will know how to stop the double European champions, who better than their domestic rivals?