Alex Nikolov and Lube won their challenging away match against Groningen in the first 1/4 final of the Challenge Cup tournament. The Italian team prevailed 3:1 (25:21, 23:25, 25:18, 29:27) in 118 minutes of play and is one victory away from the semi-finals. Nikolov finished as the second top scorer with 20 points (2 aces, 3 blocks), realizing 55% in attack and registering 57% positive reception.

Petar Dirlić was the top scorer with 21 points, Erik Loeppky added another 13 for the win.

The most dramatic was the fourth set, when the hosts took an 8:7 lead, only for Lube to reach 16:21, after which Mark Lebedev's boys not only equalized but also had three opportunities to close the set. Only Lube's better concentration allowed them to emerge victorious from the match, which ended on the second match point for the guests, after a back-row violation by the Dutch.

With this victory, Lube largely eases their return leg on January 29 in Civitanova, where the first referee will be the Bulgarian Ilia Penkov.

NOVA TECH LYCURGUS GRONINGEN (NED): Van Solkema 1, Planinsics, Keijpens (L), Zhbankov, Buur, Marques 14, Van Schie 16, Paraginre 12, Boekhoud 8, De Vries 7, Klock (L), Brilman 2.
Head Coach: Mark Lebedev.

CUCINE LUBE CIVITANOVA: Balaso (L), Bisotto (L), Boninfante 3, Bottolo 1, Dirlić 21, Gargiulo 9, Hossein Hanzadeh, Lagumdzija, Loeppky 13, Nikolov 20, Orduna, Tenorio 9. Did not play: Chinenyze, Podraščanin.
Head Coach: Medei Giampaolo.
MVP: Dirlić