Zaksa and Halkbank's wins highlight the #CLVolleyM kick-off

Action-packed Wednesday inaugurated the 4th Round of the CEV Champions League Volley 2024 - Men. Six thrilling match-ups were played across Europe, giving Volleyball fans the opportunity to see in action the European giants, including both SuperFinalists 2023 and clubs returning to the competition after longer breaks. The game between the reigning three-time #CLVolleyM champions Grupa Azoty Zaksa Kędzierzyn-Koźle and marking their comeback after nine years, Olimpiacos Piraeus, was one of the highlights of the day along with the clash of the star-studded rookie Gas Sales Daiko Piacenza who took Turkish powerhourse Halkbank Ankara that turned into Earvin Ngapeth & Nimir Abdel Aziz show.

Grupa Azoty Kędzierzyn-Koźle - Olympiacos Piraeus (23-25, 25-20, 28-26, 31-29)

The opening game of the main phase of the CEV Champions League Volley 2024 - Men, featured the reigning champions Grupa Azoty Zaksa Kędzierzyn-Koźle taking on Olympiacos Piraeus, who returned to the pool stage of the competition for the first time since 2015. Fans gathered at Azoty Kędzierzyn-Koźle enjoyed a four-set battle. 

ZAKSA has currently struggled with an injury plague that affected their line-up, which resulted in Radosław Gil being in charge of playmaking. They took a 15-11 lead in the opener, but Olympiacos without stage jitters, came back and turned the score into their favour, being powered by Toncek Stern who contributed with 7 points (64% success in attack). The hosts were determined to equal the score and after a tough fight they completed their task. Łukasz Kaczmarek and Bartosz Bednorz were the heroes of the second set. It looked that Zaksa was on the right track to win easily the third set, as they led 23-16, but Olympiacos showed what does it mean to fight til the end. They won seven consecutive points to tie at 23-23 and the final result of the set was decided in extra time. Eventually, the reigning champions prevailed, but Olympiacos continued to fight hard to extend the game into a tie-break. The guests, sparked by Salvador Hidalgo Oliva (9 points in set 4), led during most of the set, but Zaksa constantly chased the score to equal at 18-18. The nail-biting point-by-point race again went into extra time. Both sides had their chances, but smart play from 2023 MVP - David Smith sealed the deal for the reigning champions. The MVP award went to the top scorer of the game - Łukasz Kaczmarek, who tallied 22 points (19 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace).

Gas Sales Daiko Piacenza - Halkbank Ankara 1-3 (19-25, 18-25, 25-19, 21-15)

Gas Sales Daiko Piacenza made their #CLVolleyM debut at Palabanca Piacenza, taking on the 2023 semifinalists Halkbank Ankara. The star-studded line-ups of both teams promised a thrilling battle. However, the first two sets were dominated by the guests, powered by super duo Nimir Abdel-Aziz and Earving Ngapeth. The Dutch opposite in the opener hammered as many as 9 points, once French outside hitter, with 75% success in attack, scored 6 points. 

With back against the wall, the team around coach Andrea Anastasi found a way to prevail in the third set, working well in block and impressing in attack with Yoandy Leal and Francesco Recine being top scorers of the team (6 and 5 points, respectively). The fourth set was a fierce battle until 21-10. Then, Earvin Ngapeth went to the service line, doing his show. His team won five consecutive points, the last was the ace from Ngapeth, who, with 18 points to his name, was named the MVP. A match-high 21 points was scored by Nimir Abdel-Aziz.

All remaining games played on Wednesday finished in straight sets. The 2023 SuperFinalist Jastrzębski Węgiel beat Guaguas Las Palmas, 2019 #CLVolleyM champions Cucine Lube Civitanova defeated C.S. Arcada Galati, VK Lvi Praha won against Greenyard Maaseik, while SVG Luneburg upset Jihostroj Ceske Budejovice.