Panathinaikos, the Greek league’s front-runner, won its first volleyball cup title in 22 years and the fourth in the club’s history Saturday night by defeating underdog Lamia 3-0 in the final.

Lamia, which produced the cup competition’s biggest surprise by defeating Olympiakos 3-0 in the semifinals a day earlier, was a jittery side in the final.

The provincial club from northern Greece went into the cup’s Final 8 tournament just days after the resignation of its coach, Nikos Neofytos, the man who led Lamia to top-tier league competition.

The league’s top eight teams in competition, at the season’s halfway mark, qualified for the cup’s Final 8 tournament, which began last Thursday with the quarterfinals.

Panathinaikos dominated play throughout the final, leaving Lamia with no chance of a second major upset in the tournament.

“We really wanted this title badly. The cup is a special title for Panathinaikos. I hope that another 22 years don’t go by until the next one,” said Theodoros Baev, the team captain.

The cup winner broke away to an 8-3 lead in the opening set before winning it with a 25-17 score.

Lamia went ahead for the first time in the match early in the second set to lead briefly at 4-3. But Panathinaikos rebounded quickly before surging ahead and winning the second set, 25-21.

The third set proved to be the final’s tightest. But Panathinaikos held on for a 26-24 win and the cup title.