Iraklis player Alex Akhrem (r) gets the ball past Aris’s Evandro.

Panathinaikos, Iraklis and Olympiakos made their way to the semifinals of the Greek volleyball league last night, while Milon took a great step toward remaining in the A1 division.

Panathinaikos came from behind in Thessaloniki to beat host PAOK 3-2 (22-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-12) despite its numerous absentees. In the semifinals, it will face Iraklis, who dismissed Aris 3-0 away (26-24, 25-18, 25-23).

Fresh from winning the Greek Cup last Saturday, Olympiakos thrashed Lamia 3-0 away (25-14, 25-20, 25-22) and will have to wait until tomorrow to learn who its opponent will be in the best-of-three semifinal series. It will be either EA Patras or Finikas, as the series between the two sides is tied at 1-1 after both teams won their home games. The third match will take place in Patras. Both semifinal series will begin next week.

In the play that will determine which team follows Ethnikos Alexandroupolis into the A2 division, Milon beat visiting Apollon Kalamarias 3-1 (25-18, 25-27, 25-18, 25-18) last night at Nea Smyrni and has taken the upper hand toward survival. The green-and-blacks are now two points above Apollon and are hosting Kifissia on Saturday. Another home win there will likely send Apollon down.