The Polish Champions League semifinal offered top-class volleyball, but the big surprise came at the end – Aluron Warta Zawiercie's "Jurajscy Rycerze" qualified for their historic first final, overturning Jastrzębski Węgiel 3:2 sets in Łódź! 🏐🔥
The winner will face the super team of Perugia, which cleanly defeated Radostin Stoychev's Halkbank.
🔹 The match started with total domination by Jastrzębski Węgiel, and star Tomasz Fornal seemed unstoppable – 10 points in the first set alone (25:19), followed by an even more convincing second set (25:18). Fornal finished with a phenomenal 29 points, but it wasn't enough.
🔹 Aluron's awakening came in the third set, where Karol Butryn, Jakub Kwolek, and substitute Laba brought new momentum. Their serve started to cause problems for Jastrzębski's reception, and Kwolek scored 24 points, proving that Winiarski's team has depth and character.
🔹 The decisive tie-break was true drama – 22:20 for Warta after a series of saved match points and coolness in key moments.
The Polish clash in the Champions League semifinals offered a dramatic five-game spectacle, and Bulgarian presence was ensured by the second referee in the match – Ivaylo Ivanov! 👏🇧🇬
He confidently officiated one of the most emotional derbies of the season in Europe's most prestigious club tournament.
📌 The Champions League final will pit Aluron Warta Zawiercie against Sir Safety Perugia – a clash of the debutant against the European grand.
Jastrzębski Węgiel – Aluron Warta Zawiercie 2:3
(25:19, 25:18, 20:25, 19:25, 20:22)
JASW: Karle (11), Huber (6), Toniutti, Fornal (29), Brehme (13), Kaczmarek (11), Popiwczak (libero) and Vincenzin (5), Karle, Zaleszczyk (1) and Jakyeta
Warta: Russell (4), Zniszczol (7), Tavares (5), Kwolek (24), Bieniek (13), Ensingu (9), Perry (libero) and Nowosielski, Laba (10) and Butryn (13)
photos: CEV
