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The newly crowned champions Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia returned to the CEV Champions League Volley 2023 - Men to complete Leg 4 on Thursday night. Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia prevailed over Ziraat Bank Ankara 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-17, 25-17) with impressive performances from Jesus Herrera and Oleh Plotnytskyi to extend their stunning winning streak to 21 wins earned already in this season in all competitions.

Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia, unbeaten leader of Pool E, entered their home court at Pala Barton with full confidence, clearly focused on their goal. Perugia's head coach, Andrea Anastasi, decided to start the game without the MVP from Belo Horizonte - Simone Gianneli. Thus, Gregor Ropret was called on tplaymaking duty. The game had a competitive beginning. The hosts took an 8-6 lead, but it was a wake up call for Ziraat Bankasi Ankara, who not only tied, but took a 10-8 lead, scoring four in a row with Bennie Tunistra on the service line. The hosts didn't wait long to answer and quickly levelled up the score. Then, the game was continued on a point-by-point basis. Powerful attacks from Jesus Herrera (8 points in the 1st set), excellent blocks and solid service from Kamil Semeniuk made a difference in the decisive part, as Perugia jumped from 17-17 to 25-17.

It didn't discourage players from Ziraat Bank Ankara. They returned to the court with fresh energy, taking an early 7-3 lead. A very good reception and great performance on the service line - including 6 aces, 3 of them served by Wouter Ter Mat, let the visitors enlarge the gap, reaching a maximum advantage of seven points at 22-15 and 24-17. Perugia couldn't find their rhythm and committed as many as nine mistakes.

The second set was a cold shower for Perugia. The new club world champions, sparked by the home crowd, quickly ran to a 9-5 lead and improved it further. The team around coach Anastasi dominated in all components, keeping a safe distance of eight-nine points to grab the set win and took a 2-1 lead in the match after Plotnytskyi's attack. The Ukrainian outside hitter was almost unstoppable in this part, recording 83% in attack and scoring 8 points, including 2 aces.

The fourth set was competitive only up until 7-6, then Perugia started their march for victory. The hosts ran away with the score in an instant, taking a 11-6 lead to never look back. Plotnytskyi was again the most powerful weapon in Anastasi's squad, scoring 6 points - all from attack. The Italian team followed their routine and, like the two previous parts, they closed this one also 25-17.

Jesus Herrera topped the scorers chart with 20 points, including 15 kills, 4 blocks and 1 ace. The Cuban opposite also recorded 63% of success in attack, thus he was named the MVP of the game. Oleh Plotnytskyi tallied one point less than Herrera, once Semeniuk completed the game with 16 points to his name. On the other side of the net, Wouter Ter Maat contributed with 14 points.

Earning their 4th victory in Pool E, Perugia extended their winning streak, which consists of 21 victories now (11 in the Italian Superlega, 2 in the Italian Super Cup, 3 in the Champions League and 4 in the Men’s Club World Championship).