16/02/2016 21:39
Prefaxis MENEN stun LYON in Challenge Cup quarter-finals
2016 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup - Men
Lyon, France, February 16, 2016. Belgium’s Prefaxis MENEN could not ask for more from their away match in the quarter-finals of the 2016 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup – Men as on Tuesday night they cruised to a commanding 3-0 win (26-24, 25-20, 28-26) in their first matchup with France’s ASUL LYON Métropole.
The hosts could not count on their Brazilian outside spiker Thiago Souza Aranha Duarte and on French middle blocker Quentin Jouffroy and they were evidently side-lined by these absences when hosting Prefaxis MENEN on Tuesday night. The Belgians, on the other hand, showed impressive defence skills in the opening set and even though ASUL LYON Métropole had a set ball, the visitors eventually flipped the charts around and finished it off at 26-24.
The second set was controlled by Prefaxis MENEN from start to finish as they cruised to a comfortable 25-20 win propelled by their Norwegian-born opposite Jonas Kvalen (see picture, #1), top scorer at the end of the match on 17 points. The third set was a lot closer as LYON stormed back with the help of their Ukrainian-born spiker Andrii Diachkov but even the 15 points he recorded by the end of the match were enough to prevent the home side from suffering a straight-sets loss.
In two weeks the return match will be played in Belgium and Prefaxis MENEN will be trying to use the home advantage to capitalise on this compelling win and move on to the semis of the 2016 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup.
Click here for more info including detailed stats of the match
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