Perugia took a huge step towards the playoff finals after defeating Lube Civitanova away with a score of 2:3 (21-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 10-15) in a dramatic match that was extremely tense until the last game. They lead the series 2:0 and are just one win away from qualifying for the finals. 🏆

Alex Nikolov was on the court for the first three sets, but was then replaced by Canadian Eric Loeppky.Nikolov finished the match with 11 points and added 1 block. This was his 100th match for Lube! 👏

On Lube's side, the MVP of the quarterfinal playoffs, Adis Lagumdzija, added 16 points to his tally and reached an impressive 400 points for the season. Along with Lagumdzija, Mattia Bottolo also finished with 16 points in this match.

For the winners from Perugia, Ben Tara played a great match, scoring 22 points, adding 1 block and 2 aces. Plotnytskyi also made an important contribution to the team's success, finishing with 15 points, including 7 aces! Semeniuk also contributed with his 15 points, scoring 3 aces.
The tie-break started with three consecutive aces from Plotnytskyi, which immediately tilted the scales in favor of Sir Susa Vim Perugia. The Ukrainian's devastating start on serve gave his team a 0-3 lead and forced Lube to chase. Civitanova tried to get back into the match but struggled with reception and couldn't make up the initial deficit. Perugia remained calm on the counter-attack with Ben Tara (3 points in the set) and maintained control until the final 10-15. Lube finished with only 4 points in attack in the set and suffered from the quality serving and play of the Umbrians in key moments.

Plotnytskyi finished the tie-break with 4 points, 3 of which were aces, proving decisive at the crucial moment. With this victory, Perugia triumphed 3-2 away, at the end of a match that lasted 2 hours and 32 minutes.

Next Wednesday (April 16, 9:30 PM Bulgarian time), again at home, Perugia can finish the job, securing their place in the Scudetto final.

Cucine Lube Civitanova 2

Sir Susa Vim Perugia 3

(21-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 10-15)

Cucine Lube Civitanova: Bottolo 17, Chinenyeze 9, Lagumdzija 17, Nikolov 11, Podrascanin 5, Bonifante 3, Gargiulo 5, Loeppky 6, Orduna 0, Bisotto (L), Hossein Khanzade 1, D'Amico 0. Did not play: Gatto, Tenorio. Coach: Medei.

Sir Susa Vim Perugia: Giannelli 2, Plotnytskyi 15, Loser 12, Ben Tara 23, Semeniuk 15, Sole 7, Piccinelli (L), Coperlari 0, Herrera Jaime 0, Colaci (L), Ishikawa 2. Did not play: Candelaro, Cianciotta, Usowicz. Coach: Lorenzetti.

Notes – set durations: 32′, 31′, 38′, 32′, 19′; total: 152′.