Alexander Nikolov led the Lube team to a fifth match in the series against Perugia for a place in the Italian volleyball championship final with a brilliant performance.The hosts from Civitanova were ruthless and dealt a crushing 3:0 blow (25:23, 25:20, 25:21) against the champions in front of the ecstatic crowd at the Eurosuole Forum. The match will also be remembered for the entry of Lube's freshly operated captain Fabio Balaso, who replaced Alex Nikolov several times and, with a bandaged arm, was flawless in reception.

This further enthused his teammates, who created an unimaginable comeback in the third set, where from the start the guests took a comfortable 3-point lead.
At the end of the set, it was Nikolov's hour, who by then had already accumulated a double-digit score. Two attack points, one block, and one ace into libero Massimo Colaci's body from the Bulgarian finished off Perugia (19:20, 20:20, 21:20, 22:20), who had already seen themselves back in the match, leading 18:20. Two attack errors from the guests followed, and the first match point was present. Chinienyeze ended the match through the center, sending the series to a fifth match in Perugia.
Nikolov finished with the most points - 15 (1 ace), 78% attack efficiency, and 45% positive reception,followed by Mattia Bottolo - 14 (2 blocks, 1 ace). For the guests, Kamil Semeniuk and Ben Tara finished with 11 points each.Nikolov is 10 points away from the 300 mark since the start of the championship.
The error ratio was 20 for the hosts and 31 for Perugia.
Lube excelled in blocks 7/4, while the champions in serves 2/4.

Cucine Lube Civitanova: Boninfante 1, Bottolo 14, Chinenyeze 4, Lagumdzija 6,Nikolov 15, Podrascanin did not play, Gargiulo 3, Leoppky did not play, Orduna, Balaso, Bisotto (L), Hossein Khanzade, D'Amico (L) did not play, Tenorio (L) did not play. Coach: Medei.

Sir Safety Susa Vim Perugia:Gianelli, Plotnytskyi 5, Solé 3, Ben Tara 11, Semeniuk 11, Loeppky 7, Piccinelli (L) did not play, Canchotta did not play, Herrera Jaime 3, Colaci (L), Candelaro did not play, Coperlati, Usowicz did not play, Ishikawa 8. Coach: Lorenzetti.

Notes: Duration: 32', 30', 31'. Total: 1 hour 33 minutes.
Civitanova: service errors 14, aces 2, blocks 7, attack 52%, reception 44% (24% perfect).
Perugia: service errors 21, aces 4, blocks 4, attack 52%, reception 39% (19% perfect).
Spectators: 2,675.
MVP: Bisotto.

FABIO BALASO: "Returning to the court after an injury, the first so serious for me, was a great feeling. I worked a lot to try and get back as quickly as possible and today I was very happy that I could contribute to the team. I hope, of course, to be back at 100% as soon as possible. Bisotto? He played another great match, both in reception and defense. Francesco was very valuable throughout the series and everything he won, he fully deserves it, because we are talking about a great professional who always gives his maximum. Above all, he is a great person. It's wonderful that we managed to tie the series, Lube once again proved that it is a team that never gives up. Now we will go to Perugia to fight until the end!"

The decisive fifth match between the two teams is on Thursday (April 24) at 9:30 PM Bulgarian time in Perugia.