Cucine Lube Civitanova sent a clear signal of their ambitions in the European campaign after decisively defeating French club Montpellier HSC VB 3-0 (25:16, 25:17, 25:22) in a match played in front of 2550 spectators at the Eurosuole Forum in Civitanova Marche. The Italian powerhouse controlled the game throughout the evening, demonstrating stable reception, aggressive serving, and effectiveness in key rallies. The match lasted a total of 71 minutes, with intrigue only appearing in the third set, but even there, Lube outplayed their opponent in every phase of the game, winning the individual sets by a clear margin and cementing their status as group favorites.

Alex Nikolov once again stood out, finishing as the top scorer with 17 points, including 3 aces and 2 blocks, while recording 33% positive and 33% perfect reception. In attack, he achieved an impressive 81% success rate, without a single ball blocked or an error made – a completely flawless performance by the Bulgarian international.

Enrico Loeppky and Mattia Bottolo added 11 and 10 points respectively to the victory. For the visiting team Montpellier, the only players with double-digit scores were Ezequiel Palacios with 13 points and Tomas Lopez Pascual with 12.