Olympiacos secured their place in the next round of the CEV Champions League qualifiers after a comprehensive victory over Strumica. Following their initial 3-0 win in North Macedonia, the team from Piraeus repeated the feat at home with another 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-21) triumph, progressing to the next stage without dropping a set. However, their victory was overshadowed by an injury to Mitar Tzourits (Mitar Đurić), who left the match during the second set after a bad fall.
Key performances came from Aleksandar Atanasijević, who led with 19 points, and Anestis Dalakouras, who added 12. Strumica struggled to keep up, with their main contributor being Stojan Iliev with 12 points. They now await the winner of the Las Palmas vs Benfica match, with the Spanish side having the upper hand after a 3-1 home victory.
In a parallel qualification battle, Crvena Zvezda easily overcame Omonia in the second leg of their Champions League qualifier. The Serbian champions won 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-19), cementing their dominance following another 3-0 victory in Cyprus. Leading the charge for Crvena Zvezda was Ahmed Omar with 12 points, while Aleksandar Stefanović added 11. Omonia’s veteran Teo Lopes, who once claimed a World Championship title with Brazil, could not save his team despite scoring 15 points. Crvena Zvezda now awaits the winner of the TTU (Estonia) vs Orion Stars Dotinhem (Netherlands) matchup in the next round.
