Showtime in Europe as semifinal spots come up for grabs

If this week is anything as intense as the previous in the CEV Champions League Volley 2021, volleyball fans across the continent (and indeed the world) are in for a treat as the season's top eight teams take to the courts again in the return legs of the quarterfinals to seal the four tickets to the semifinals.

Leo Shoes Modena, Grupa Azoty Kedzierzyn-Kozle, Zenit Kazan and Trentino Itas are all two sets away from grabbing these four tickets - but it's hardly going to be that simple.

Indeed, going into this week's return legs with that mentality and setting getting these two sets as the goal could prove catastrophic. It's certainly more prudent to approach these matches taking one's opponent head-on with a straight win in mind. And that's what all the winners of last week are aiming at, though the first leg losers are hardly throwing in the towel.

Modena are eying a return to the last four of the Champions League for the first time in almos two decades - and to do that they have six shots at taking two sets from Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia on Tuesday at the PalaBarton.

The two Italian sides meet for the sixth time this season. Perugia knocked out Modena in the semifinals of the Italian Supercup and beat their opponents twice in the Italian League. But last week's incredible win by Modena in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals more than made up for any domestic setbacks.

Despite last week's heavy defeat, though, Perugia are certainly not giving up.

Meanwhile, defending champions Cucine Lube Civitanova have taken drastic measures in their bid to overturn last week's defeat to Kedzierzyn-Kozle.

Just hours after going down in four sets at home to the Polish side, Lube fired their coach Ferdinando De Giorgi and replaced him with Italian National Team coach Gianlorenzo Blengini. The 49-year-old, who returns to Civitanova after a stint there from 2015 to 2017, has his work cut out for him, as Lube need a three- or four-set win to take the tie into a 'Golden Set'.

"Beyond the advantage that the Polish team gained by winning the first leg, to approach the match on Wednesday in the best possible way it will be essential to find the willingness of each player to express themselves to their full potential, so we will have to focus exclusively on ourselves and on what will happen in our court side," said Blengini ahead of the return leg.

But if last week's MVP Kamil Semeniuk and his teammates can repeat their performance, this time at home, Lube would not have a chance.

And out east, in the capital of Tatarstan, Zenit Kazan fans will be able to cheer their team as they try to put behind them a poor last season (although that competition was never completed) as they take on PGE Skra Belchatow in a bid to return to the top of European volleyball.

Bartsoz Bendorz, top scorer in the first leg last week, will come again up against his former side, as he tries to lead Zenit to the last four. They too need only two sets in six tries to get the job done.

And wrapping up the week's action, Trentino Itas embark on their second century of Champions League matches (after playing their 100th last week in the German capital) when they host Berlin Recycling Volleys.

All eyes will be on Nimir Abdel-Aziz who has been instrumental this season either as opposite or as setter in seeing Trentino, three-time European champions (though not since 2011), advance this season through the 2nd round to remain undefeated through pool play and then take advantage over Berlin with a match high 28 points and a 71% attacking efficiency last week.