Bogdanka LUK Lublin achieved a historic success, qualifying for the Challenge Cup volleyball final. They will face Italian Cucine Lube Civitanova in a match that promises to be exciting for Bulgarian fans, as two national team players – Alex Nikolov and our national team captain Alex Grozdanov – will play against each other.

In the semi-final return leg against Sporting Lisbon, after a 3:0 victory in the first match, the Lublin team needed only two sets won at home to secure a place in the final. This was achieved despite the absence of key players such as Wilfredo Leon, who was given a rest. Alex Grozdanov also did not start.

After the team secured the necessary two sets, players who receive less playing time entered the court.In this last part, Grozdanov also entered, scoring 3 points (one ace) and achieving 50% success in attack.A double block gave the first match point at 24:19, and on the second attempt, the match was closed with an attack through the center.

Bogdanka LUK Lublin - Sporting Lisbon 3:0 (25:21, 25:17, 25:21).
The second referee of the match was Ivaylo Ivanov.

The final matches are scheduled for March 12 in Lublin and a week later in Italy. This is a significant achievement for Polish volleyball, as Bogdanka LUK Lublin becomes the third Polish club with a chance to win the Challenge Cup, after Titan AZS Częstochowa (2012) and Projekt Warsaw (2024). This happens in Lublin's debut in European tournaments.

At the same time, other Polish teams continue their participation in European tournaments. Asseco Resovia qualified for the CEV Cup semi-finals, and the teams of Zawiercie, Warsaw, and Jastrzębie-Zdrój will begin their battle in the Champions League quarter-finals in two weeks.