Tsvetan Sokolov thunders past the PGE Skra Belchatow block of Nikolay Penchev and Karol Klos as he leads Cucine Lube Civitanova to the final of the 2017 FIVB Men's Club World Championship in Krakow.
Krakow, Poland, December 16, 2017 - In their debut appearance in the competition, Italian champions Cucine Lube Civitanova shut our local favourites PGE Skra Belchatow 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-23) in the second semifinal of the 2017 FIVB Men's Club World Championship to set up a clash with Russia's Zenit Kazan in Sunday's final.
Lube are the first Italian side to play in a Club World Championship final since Trentino Diatec picked up their fourth consecutive title in 2012.
Skra missed their real chance in the first set, when they led Lube 23-21 before the Italian side rallied for a 4-0 run to take the overall lead. Lube never trailed in the score after that for the remainder of the match.
Tsvetan Sokolov was once again the driving force for Lube, brining in 11 kills in 21 swings (52%) and adding two blocks and one ace for a total of 14 points, as the Italian champions outplayed Skra in all scoring skills.
Lube will now play Zenit in Sunday's final at Krakow's Tauron Arena at 20:30 local time (19:30 GMT), following the bronze medal between Brazil's Sada Cruzeiro and Skra at 17:30 (16:30 GMT).
Quick links - Volleyball:FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship 2017
FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship 2017 - ScheduleFIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship 2017 - Teams
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