It's official ","Cucine Lube Civitanova" with Bulgarian star Alex Nikolov will be among the four teams vying for the trophy in the ","Del Monte" Supercup of the Italian SuperLega. The competition will take place on February 28 and March 1 in Trieste, and for the first time in history, the tournament is scheduled at the end of the regular season and immediately before the start of the playoffs.

The modern ","PalaTrieste" arena will host the event, and the Supercup will be the second trophy of the season in Italy. The ","Del Monte" Italian Cup is scheduled for February 7 and 8, 2026, in Bologna, which further tightens the schedule of leading clubs.

The four participants in Trieste are ","Itas Trentino", ","Cucine Lube Civitanova", ","Rana Verona" and ","Sir Susa Vim Perugia". The semifinal pairings promise volleyball of the highest technical and tactical level. Reigning Italian champions ","Trentino" will face European and World Club champions ","Perugia", while Alex Nikolov's ","Lube" will meet ","Verona" in a repeat of last season's Italian Cup final.

For Bulgarian international Alex Nikolov, this will be another opportunity to solidify his position among the leading players in the SuperLega. His presence in Lube's squad adds extra interest for the Bulgarian audience, as the club from Civitanova traditionally aims for every possible trophy, and the Supercup is no exception.

The criteria for participation in the ","Del Monte" Supercup are clearly defined: ","Itas Trentino" enters as the Italian champions, ","Cucine Lube Civitanova" – as the Italian Cup winner, ","Rana Verona" – as a substitute for the Scudetto finalist, and ","Sir Susa Vim Perugia" completes the quartet with the best regular season ranking.

The tournament will be held in Trieste for the third time in the history of the Italian league. Its debut was in the 1999/2000 season with a triumph by TNT Alpitour Cuneo, and in 2007/08, the trophy went to Sisley Treviso. Now the Friulian capital will once again be the stage for elite volleyball, where Alex Nikolov and ","Lube" will seek the path to another prestigious success.

The times for the semifinals, final, and television broadcasting will be announced later, but one thing is certain – at the end of February, Trieste will be the center of Italian and European club volleyball.