Maritsa Plovdiv is in the next Champions League qualifying round, but Herceg Novi made them sweat. After a 3-0 win in Montenegro, the Bulgarian champions needed five sets to win the return leg 3-2 (28-30, 25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 15-10) in 144 minutes at the Kolodruma. They won the tie-break by five points. Aleksandra Kitipova was MVP with 24 points, including 3 aces and 2 blocks, and Ana Peychich and Elena Becheva scored 22 each. Reyhane Karimi (18) and Oksana Yakushina (17) led the Montenegrin champions. Next, Maritsa face the winner of Turan Tovuz against Mladost Zagreb. Turan won the first leg 3-0, and the return is on 29 October. In Spain, FC Porto completed a double over Fundación Cajasol Andalucía, winning 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 26-24) at the Montequinto sports complex in Dos Hermanas after a 3-1 first-leg win. Ricardo Torronteras’s side had a set point to extend the third set but could not take it. Cajasol now drop into the CEV Cup Round of 32, where they meet Switzerland’s Viteos Neuchâtel UC, with the first leg at home on 25 November.
