Volleyball
Olympiacos – Maccabi: Red and white triumph, deservedly won the Challenge Cup in the packed SEF
Olympiacos got the two sets they needed against Maccabi Tel Aviv and won the Challenge Cup in a full SEF. Third European title for the red and white.
Olympiacos won the third European title in its history. The red-whites took the two sets they needed against Maccabi and added their name alongside the Challenge Cup trophy holder for the 2022-23 season.
Giuliani’s players had done half the work in Israel, where they won 3-0 sets, making their task easier in the packed SEF.
Olympiakos’ third European title
This is the Piraeus club’s third European title in men’s volleyball and fourth in volleyball overall, after tallying another in women’s volleyball.
Specifically, the red and white appeared in a final for the eighth time (twice in the Champions Cup, 1992 and 2002, four times in the Cup Winners’ Cup, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2005 and twice in the Challenge Cup in 2018 and 2023) and they reached the end of the route for the third time.
The match: Olympiacos started nervously and Maccabi took a four-point lead (6-10). Pagenk’s serves quickly turned things around, however, as the Reds and Whites folded to take a 12-10 lead.
The rest belonged entirely to the red and white. With tactical serve and the block on the clock, the Reds and Whites ran 19-6 overall to finish the first set 25-16.
In the second set, both teams advanced point by point. Maccabi twice walked away with two points but Olympiacos didn’t let them get away and managed to escape mid-set.
With another serve and block as a weapon, the red-whites extended a difference of four points and reached the 2-0 set with 25:21, which also meant victory in the Challenge Cup.
The third set was now standard procedure but Olympiacos didn’t take their foot off the gas and went 3-0 to win the third set 25-16.
Olympiakos – Maccabi 3-0
The sentences: 25-16, 25-21, 25-16
The celebrations of the Red and Whites for winning the title
The golden book of the Challenge Cup
- 1980–81: Cannes (France)
- 1981–82: Sternlift Voorburg (Netherlands)
- 1982–83: Modena (Italy)
- 1983–84: Modena (Italy)
- 1984–85: Modena (Italy)
- 1985–86: Falconara (Italy)
- 1986–87: Milan (Italy)
- 1987–88: Leningrad (Soviet Union)
- 1988–89: Leningrad (Soviet Union)
- 1989–90: Mercer (West Germany)
- 1990–91: Sisley Treviso (Italy)
- 1991–92: Parma (Italy)
- 1992–93: Sisley Treviso (Italy)
- 1993–94: Padova (Italy)
- 1994–95: Parma (Italy)
- 1995–96: Cuneo (Italy)
- 1996–97: Ravenna (Italy)
- 1997–98: Sisley Treviso (Italy)
- 1998–99: Palermo (Italy)
- 1999–00: Roma (Italy)
- 2000–01: Macerata (Italy)
- 2001–02: Cuneo (Italy)
- 2002–03: Sisley Treviso (Italy)
- 2003–04: Modena (Italy)
- 2004–05: Macerata (Italy)
- 2005–06: Macerata (Italy)
- 2006–07: Fakel Novi (Russia)
- 2007–08: Modena (Italy)
- 2008–09: Arkas (Turkey)
- 2009–10: Perugia (Italy)
- 2010–11: Macerata (Italy)
- 2011–12: Czestochowa (Poland)
- 2012–13: Piacenza (Italy)
- 2013-14: Fenerbahce (Turkey)
- 2014–15: Vojvodina (Serbia)
- 2015–16: Verona (Italy)
- 2016–17: Fakel Novi (Russia)
- 2017–18: Ravenna (Italy)
- 2018–19: Belogory Belgorod (Russia)
- 2020–21: Milan (Italy)
- 2021–22: Narbonne (France)
- 2022-23: Olympiacos
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Source: sport 24
Alberta Robinson is a sports journalist and author, who is currently associated with the publication Sportish, where she writes about sports related news and events. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, Robinson brings in-depth analysis and insightful commentary to her writing.