Zawiercie's long "historic" journey to the Final Four is "full of excitement"

Eight years ago, Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie were celebrating their promotion to the first league, after securing the first place in the Polish second league. With baby steps, they finished ninth in their first season, then fourth in the next one, signalling their ambitions.

But who would have thought that this club was going to deliver a flawless season, becoming the only side between the contestants still alive in the CEV Champions League Men Final Four to reach the semi-finals without even dropping a match?

Well, probably few, especially as this is only their second appearance in the European premium competition, after being eliminated by fellow Polish side Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle in the play-offs.

But here they are, providing some excellent volleyball and dreaming about a title, after a season where they conceded only six sets in eight matches, and have also finished second in the Polish league, losing the final against the winners of the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup Men, Bogdanka LUK Lublin.

“For our club, generally, it's a historic moment because it's the first time when we have the opportunity to play in the Final Four, so we're really happy and proud to be here,” says the team captain, Mateusz Bieniek.

The 31-year-old middle blocker, a star in his country, a silver medallist at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a world champion in 2018 and a bronze medallist at the CEV EuroVolley 2021 and CEV EuroVolley 2023, has been a key ingredient in Zawiercie’s rise, having signed in 2023.

Since then, the Polish side has established itself as one of the teams to watch in Europe, and has thoroughly dominated their opponents on their way to Łódź, including two wins against Allianz Milano (3:0 and 3:2) in the 4th round and two strong outings against SVG Lüneburg in the quarter-finals (3:0 and 3:1).

But when asked how did this young team manage to reach the Final Four, Bieniek provided one hint of the reason of why they are here.

“We are not a young team,” smiles Bieniek. “Maybe you want to say young club, well, that’s true. But we have some experienced players in the squad, our average age is pretty high. Experience is very important, but just a few players can fight for the trophy each year, we do not have too many, so we have to make it count, like I said, this is very important for us.”

Motivation is key, but fighting for the biggest trophy of them all should bring plenty of excitement, as well as pressure for Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie. But the experienced Bieniek hopes that nerves will be swiftly squashed.

“We play against Jastrzębski Węgiel in the semi-final, we know them very well from our domestic competitions, we lost the Cup against them a month ago, but we will be very motivated. We are excited and we want to show what we are made of,” concludes the Zawiercie captain.