Zaksa overcame their opponents in a five-set thriller in Turin’s iconic Pala Alpitour to claim their third successive Champions League triumph, news outlets reported.
After nearly 2,5 hours of battle, Zaksa won the most coveted prize in European club volleyball in front of an audience that included thousands of Polish fans, according to the official website of CEV Champions League.
Zaksa edged out Jastrzębski Węgiel after being beaten by them to the Polish title earlier this month, public broadcaster TVP Sport reported.
Zaksa’s captain Aleksander Śliwka thanked the fans for creating “a brilliant atmosphere” on the night and for helping his team “through difficult moments,” Polish state news agency PAP reported.
About the final itself, Śliwka said: “The match was so full of drama that I remember little of what happened. I remember the neverending match-balls. It was a legendary match that I will never forget. I’m very happy.”
The CEV Volleyball Champions League is the top official annual competition for men's volleyball clubs in Europe.
It is run by the European Volleyball Confederation, the sport's continental governing body also known by its French name of Confédération Européenne de Volleyball, or CEV.
Three-time winners Zaksa, who are based in Kędzierzyn-Koźle, a mid-sized industrial town in southern Poland, are the second Polish volleyball club to have topped the prestigious tournament.
In 1978, Poland’s Płomień Milowice triumphed in the competition when it was called the CEV European Champions Cup.
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Source: PAP, TVP Sport, championsleague.cev.eu