Poland’s Projekt Warsaw claimed a historic men’s CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup trophy on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Italy’s Igor Gorgonzola Novara triumphed in the women’s edition of the European club tournament.
2024 CEV VOLLEYBALL CHALLENGE CUP – MEN
Projekt Warsaw had never won a continental trophy in the history of the club, but in this year’s home-and-away final of the CEV Challenge Cup they managed to achieve two four-set victories against strong Italian opponents Mint Vero Volley Monza, to celebrate a historic success.
In the first game on 20 February, Projekt Warsaw delighted the home fans in the Polish capital with a 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-18, 25-19) victory, led by 33-year-old French outside hitter Kevin Tillie with 16 points, while Vero Volley’s Canadian strikers Eric Loeppky and Arthur Szwarc shared the top-scorer honours with 21 points each.
In the return game in Monza a week later, the team from Poland once again stunned the opponents in front of over three thousand of their fans with another 3-1 (27-25, 25-16, 17-25, 25-22) win to snatch the coveted trophy. 29-year-old opposite Bartlomiej Boladz, who was subbed out as soon as his team secured the gold after the second set, still finished as Projekt’s top scorer with 13 points, while Slovenian rising star Nik Mujanovic, who was among Vero Volley’s starters for the third and the fourth sets, delivered the match high of 17 points.
The Most Valuable Player (MVP) award went to Projekt Warsaw’s 29-year-old Ukrainian international middle blocker Yurii Semeniuk (pictured with his teammates in the main photo; credits: cev.eu).
To reach the final, each of the two teams went on an eight-match winning streak. In the semifinals, Projekt Warsaw defeated Finland’s Akaa Volley twice, while Vero Volley produced two wins over Türkiye’s Galatasaray HDI Istanbul.
2024 CEV VOLLEYBALL CHALLENGE CUP – WOMEN
Italian representatives Igor Gorgonzola Novara put on a volleyball spectacle and picked up the CEV Challenge Cup crown for the second time in the club’s history, after their win in 2003. It was their fifth continental trophy, after also winning the CEV Champions League in 2019 and the CEV Cup in 2006 and in 2009.
Igor Gorgonzola Novara mastered two wins over France’s Neptunes Nantes in the home-and-away final. In the first match on 21 February, the Italian team cruised to a 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-20) victory. Igor Gorgonzola Novara’s 23-year-old Russian outside hitter Marina Markova delivered a match-high 17 points, including four aces.
Neptunes Nantes surprised the opponents by taking the first set of the return match on 28 February in France, but the visitors came back to claim a 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-19) victory and celebrate the trophy. This time another Russian talent, 21-year-old opposite Vita Akimova, led the team with 25 points.
Akimova was also honoured as tournament MVP.
With the final victory, the Italian gold medallists rounded off a 12-game winning streak that took them through the Challenge Cup competition undefeated. In the semifinals, they achieved two four-set wins over Germany’s Wiesbaden. Neptunes Nantes also reached the final unbeaten in 10 matches and crowned that series with two straight-set semifinal victories over Türkiye’s Nilufer Belediye Bursa.
Igor Gorgonzola Novara’s team roster
