Luxembourg, March 21, 2018.  As the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League reaches its most exciting stage, we close in on the Final Four climax confirmed as the 12/13 May in Kazan, Russia.  Come back to the present day and travel 2,500 km further east you will reach the home of Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK, who today came back from losing the first leg in straight set to winning the Golden Set 15-12.  In the evening matches, Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE came through their Polish derby against JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel, while Sir Colussi Sicoma PERUGIA followed up on their first leg win against Halkbank ANKARA with another straight sets victory.

Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK (RUS) vs. Noliko MAASEIK (BEL) 3-1 (25-18, 25-22, 19-25, 26-24) - 15-12 in the Golden Set

• Lokomotiv had to win with a score of 3:1 or 3:0, as well as win the eventual Golden Set in order to progress to the next round. As such, they started with their strongest possible team composition.
• The Belgians stayed in the game (5-5, 8-7) before the home side established a lead at 11-8, to which the head coach of Noliko reacted with a time-out. In the third part of the set, the visitors slightly reduced the difference in the score, but, in general, the team of Novosibirsk completely controlled the situation on the court and won the set with a clear advantage - 25:18.
• Before the first technical, Lokomotiv managed to edge two points ahead.  From here the "railwaymen" also made a push and reached 13-9, mainly due to a good blocking game. The remainder of the second set remained for the Russian side, who restrained the attacking impulse of the guests to take a two-set lead.
• Lokomotiv's coach Plamen Konstantinov was forced to take a time-out after the Belgian side started strongly knowing that if they could level the match to 2-2 that would be enough to make it to the next round.  As the teams approached the twenties, the Belgians pushed ahead to 20-17 and that was enough to take the set 25-19.
• Now just one set away and the Belgian team were in the lead, albeit with a minimal advantage 8-7 at the first technical, however this grew to two points at the second technical break (16-14). The "Railwaymen" equalised the score at 18-18 leading to a tense end of the set.  There was a fight in every point but it ended in favour of Novosibirsk – 26-24 – meaning a Golden Set.
• The Golden Set continued with the same flow. It was 8-7 in favour of Lokomotiv when the teams changed sides. Marcus Nilsson made an accurate attack to make it 13-11 and the hosts did not lose their opportunity and sealed a place in the Playoff 6 (15-12).
• The best on the stats for the home side was Marcus Nilsson who scored 20 points while Sebastian Gevert top scored for Noliko with 26.

Iliyas Kurkaev, player of Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK: “In the first two sets they did not cope with us, they made a lot of mistakes. Then they acclimatized, stabilized the reception, adjusted their game, and could turn the tide of the game. Belgian teams are short, they add problems to us when playing on the block. Such nervous Volleyball was due to the fact that we were physically stronger, and they surpassed us in technique. But I am glad that we won this battle.”

Joel Banks, head coach of Noliko MAASEIK: “Lokomotiv today played with their strongest team, we did not use the chances that occasionally allowed us to put up a fight. My guys fought, of course, played their best volleyball, but we did not have the grade to beat such a powerful team as Lokomotiv.”

Jelte Maan, team captain of Noliko MAASEIK: “I congratulate Lokomotiv with the victory. Of course, after the defeat at home, they returned to the game and showed their best side. We lost because, at first, we were absolutely confused by the atmosphere in the hall, it was simply incredible! We were confused, but I am glad that we were able to put pressure on the Novosibirsk team, to show some good sets. But, unfortunately, we did not have enough details, nuances, and the skills of the team from Novosibirsk are much higher.”

Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE (POL) vs. JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel (POL) 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-12)

• Over two thousand fans watched two Polish sides battle it out for a place in the Playoffs 6.  In the end Zaksa broke the resistance of JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel and confirmed their place in the group of the six best teams in Europe.
• The match started with a nice ceremony as Sebastian Świderski, president of Zaksa, along with the supporters of the club thanked the current trainer of JASTRZEBSKI, Ferdinado De Giorgi for spending two years in this team.
• Salvador Hidalgo Oliva started the match with an ace and after a nice counterattack the travelling team took a 3-1 lead. Some smart tricks from French setter Benjamin Toniutti and a nicely placed ace by Rafał Buszek made Zaksa come back to the right course. When Maciej Muzaj attacked and missed the court when there was no block, the host team grabbed a convincing 10-6 lead and took control of the set (14-8, 16-12, 20-15) before securing the opening set 25-21.
• The second set started pretty nervously. The Canadian opposite hitter Jason De Rocco of JASTRZEBSKI was punished with a yellow card for challenging the referee's decision and the score stayed level (3-3, 5-5, 7-7).  Zaksa jumped ahead by a couple of points numerous times but each time they did so, the visitors managed to level the score. It was only at the end, after some missed serves and attacks by the away side, and 'a scuffle' at the net won by Sam Deroo, that Zaksa manage to take a 21-18 lead.  After De Rocco missed the court with his fierce attack, the squad from Kedzierzyn won the second set 25-20 and with it secured their promotion to the Playoffs 6.
• From the third set a new match had began with the coaches of both teams deciding to try out some of their substitutes. At the second technical break, Zaksa had a 16-10 advantage and convincingly won the third and last set 25-12.  They now await their opponent from Germany in the next round.

Quotes:

“I congratulate Zaksa, but on the other hand I want to thank my team for the fight. Committing less mistakes we could have achieved more,” said the assistant coach of JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel, Michal Chadala.

“Until the end of the second set, we did not lose our concentration and this was the main focus for the match. I am glad that we achieved that,” said Andrea Gardini, coach of Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE.

Sir Colussi Sicoma PERUGIA (ITA) vs. Halkbank ANKARA (TUR) 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-13)

• Knowing that two sets would do for the home team, the start of the match was important for both sides. The hosts needed a comeback in the first set, after nine service errors, before they squeezed through by two points.
• A superb Alexander Berger (seven points, 67% success in attack) was PERUGIA’s man in the second set. It was Fernando Hernandez Ramos’s service error that ended the set 25-23, thus giving Sir Colussi Sicoma the certainty of progressing to the Playoffs 6.
• After twenty days, Aaron Russell returned back to the court doing so in the third set as he is recovering from injury.
• PERUGIA dominated the third set with Aleksandar Atanasijevic registering a 100% success rate in attack.  It was his ace that ended the set 25-13.
• Sir Colussi Sicoma PERUGIA will be playing against Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK in the Playoffs 6, with a spot in the Final Four at stake.

Quotes:

Marko Podrascanin, player of Sir Colussi Sicoma PERUGIA: “I’m very happy. We did not underestimate the opponent even after we won the first match 3-0. We took the first step, now we need to think first of all about Bunge RAVENNA to gain access to the national championship semi-final, then about the next opponent which is Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK.”

Nemanja Petric, player of Halkbank ANKARA: “I think we started out the match better today compared to the one in Ankara. We almost made it in the first and second set, then when you lose the chance of doing anything it’s hard to get yourself on your feet again. They have a higher level compared to ours. We tried and it’s nice to measure our strength against the strongest teams in Europe. We’ll go back to playing our Turkish championship and we wish them good luck for the remainder of their journey in the Champions League.”

For more on the 2018 Champions League click here.