Maritsa (Plovdiv) ended its historic European participation after a loss to Igor Gorgonzola. Maritsa (Plovdiv) lost the return leg against one of the strongest Italian teams – Igor Gorgonzola (Novara) – with a score of 0:3 (21:25, 19:25, 14:25) in the quarterfinals of the CEV Cup tournament. The match was played in front of nearly 2000 spectators in the "Kolodruma" hall. With this result, the Plovdiv team concluded their impressive European participation in a historic season, in which they overcame the Champions League group stage for the first time and reached the quarterfinals of a European tournament.

The Italians started strong, taking a 7:4 lead in the first set. Although Maritsa came back and narrowed the gap, Novara maintained their advantage and won the set 25:21.
The second set started evenly (6:6), but Igor Gorgonzola took control and pulled ahead 11:8, then extended the lead to 17:12 and closed the set 25:19.
The third set began with an early lead for the visitors (6:2), which quickly grew to 18:10. The Italians gave Maritsa no chance and won the set convincingly 25:14, thus securing their place in the semifinals.
The most effective player for the winners was Taylor Mims with 16 points (4 aces, 1 block). For the hosts, Iva Dudova finished with 14 points (1 ace, 2 blocks).
Despite the elimination, the season remains historic for Maritsa – the first time passing the Champions League group stage and the first participation in the quarterfinals of European tournaments.
Igor Gorgonzola continues to the semifinals of the CEV Cup, where they are among the favorites for the trophy.