18/10/2017 21:33
Maccabi emerge victorious from dramatic matchup with Belarusian champions
2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League - Men
Luxembourg, October 18, 2017. The ‘Match of the Week’ on schedule for the opening round of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men lived up to the expectations as Maccabi TEL-AVIV and Shakhtior SOLIGORSK battled for five sets before the Israeli champions crowned their CL debut with a historic, hard-fought 3-2 victory. The other matches on schedule for the second round of Europe’s most prestigious club competition ended in comprehensive 3-0 victories for ACH Volley LJUBLJANA, Abiant GRONINGEN and Omonia NICOSIA – who all easily disposed of their respective opponents from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Montenegro.
OK Mladost BRČKO (BIH) vs. ACH Volley LJUBLJANA (SLO) 0-3 (19-25, 17-25, 19-25)
ACH Volley LJUBLJANA have been a force to reckon with on the European stage for quite some time – and as a result, Slovenia’s multiple national champions did not find too much resistance when playing CL rookies OK Mladost BRČKO of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ACH Volley rallied to a comprehensive 3-0 victory – a result they can build on this coming Sunday when hosting the re-match in the Slovenian capital as they vie for a spot in the third round where they would play Russia’s Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK. It was the second straight night a CL match took place in the city of Brčko following the women’s fixture between ZOK Bimal-Jedinstvo and Nova KBM Branik MARIBOR on Tuesday – much to the excitement of the local fans, who turned out to support the four-time-in-a-row national champions of OK Mladost.
Ljubisa Ristic, head coach of OK Mladost BRČKO: “It was a good experience for my team to play against such a strong opponent from Slovenia. We will use the coming days to analyse our mistakes and improve our performance for the return match on Sunday.”
Zoran Kedacic, head coach of ACH Volley LJUBLJANA: “I am happy that we made a step forward on our journey to the next round of the CEV Volleyball Champions League. We somehow feel ready to play Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK. I want to thank the home team for their kindness and hospitality.”
Omonia NICOSIA (CYP) vs. Jedinstvo Bemax BIJELO POLJE (MNE) 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-15)
Playing in front of more than 1,000 fans, Omonia NICOSIA rallied to a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Champions League rookies Jedinstvo Bemax BIJELO POLJE. The result coincides with Omonia’s first victory on the European stage – and therefore, with a historic achievement for the Cypriot team. The second game will take place in Montenegro on Sunday, October 22, with the eventual winners set to face Poland’s JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel in the third round.
The three-time-in-a-row Cypriot champions Omonia NICOSIA played better in all three sets, thus delivering a very solid performance. Jedinstvo took a six-point lead in the beginning of the first set, but Omonia set the pace for the remainder of the game.
Fair play and good sportsmanship dominated the atmosphere at Eleftheria Stadium in Nicosia.
Maccabi TEL-AVIV (ISR) vs. Shakhtior SOLIGORSK (BLR) 3-2 (25-22, 25-20, 21-25, 15-25, 16-14)
Israeli Volleyball fans experienced a real Volleyball party on Wednesday night – and it lasted for five sets, all equally exciting – with Maccabi TEL-AVIV claiming a 2-0 lead before their opponents from Belarus regrouped, found their best game and eventually levelled the match. It was a close race from start to finish also in the tiebreak, with Maccabi emerging victorious to the delight of the crowd via an ace by Ariel Katzenelson.
Zohar Bar Netzer, head coach of Maccabi TEL-AVIV: “It was a drama. We started the game very well but we found ourselves with the back against the wall after the team from Belarus came back by winning the third and fourth sets. I am happy that we could regroup and won in the end. This is Maccabi’s historic first victory in the Champions League.”
KV Luboteni FERIZAJ (KOS) vs. Abiant GRONINGEN (NED) 0-3 (16-25, 19-25, 13-25)
The reigning Dutch national champions, Abiant GRONINGEN claimed an emphatic victory in the away match with their Kosovar counterpart KV Luboteni FERIZAJ. Abiant are making their second straight appearance in the CEV Volleyball Champions League and they started their journey in the 2018 edition of Europe’s elite club competition in the best way.
Their compelling 3-0 win bodes well ahead of the re-match, which is due to take place on October 26 before a large crowd at Martin Plaza – where last year more than 4,000 fans came together to witness the home matches played by Abiant with Bulgaria’s Dobrudja 07 DOBRICH and Belgium’s Noliko MAASEIK.
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