Luxembourg, December 12, 2017. Traditionally the main stage of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League, the 4th Round got underway in style with two matches featuring some of the world's best.  In the Czech Republic, 1,300 people crammed in to Sport Centrum PROSTEJOV to welcome Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL and the hall was filled with noise as Agel PROSTEJOV won the first set.  However, the Turkish team came fighting back and took each of the next three and with it the win.  In the later match Chemik POLICE dominated away at Vizura RUMA, becoming the first team to even win a set at the Serbian team's new home Sportsko Poslovni Centar, as they walked out 3-0 winners.

Agel PROSTEJOV (CZE) vs Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL (TUR) 1-3 (25-20, 14-25, 19-25, 21-25)

• Agel PROSTEJOV got off to a flying start as the pre-match favourite from Turkey was definitely taken aback as Set 1 ended in a 25-20 win for the Czech national champions.
• From the start of set 2, Fenerhahce SK ISTANBUL stopped making as many mistakes and stepped up their game in all areas.
• At 1-2 in sets, the home team almost made it to the tie-break when they were leading 21-19, but they lost their tempo at the end of the set and with it all of the momentum.
• The travelling team had the upper hand in block and defence (17 vs 6 points in blocking).
• The top scorers were Fenerbahce's leading players Polina Rahimova (26) and Natalia Zilio Pereira (19).
• Fenerbahce has taken their seventh consecutive win over PROSTEJOV (for the second time 3-1, while the other five times have been 3-0).
  

Quotes:

Miroslav Cada, head coach of Agel PROSTEJOV, said: "Congratulations on the victory. We faced a very tough team and I am really pleased that we managed to keep pace in reception and serving. On the other hand, Fenerbahce showed their great power in blocking, which made it difficult for us to score points. Their duo Rahimova + Pereira caused us a lot of trouble in attack. Despite the loss, we feel very good about this beautiful match because most of the time we played a very nice game.“

Kathleen Weiss, captain of Agel PROSTEJOV, said: "We played extremely well in set 1, and not only because of mistakes on the opposing side. But in sets 2 and 3 we lost the rhythm and could not find the way to fight back. Especially Pereira and Rahimova were physically very hard opponents. It is a pity that we did not make it to the tie-break when we were 21-19 up in Set 4. The tie-break would have been very close."

Jan De Brandt, Head coach of Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL, said: "I have to congratulate PROSTEJOV on their very good performance. They pushed us to our limits, mainly in sets 1 and 3. Our game was weak at the beginning but we made a significant improvement in the second set due to our blocking. Generally speaking, we did not play very well tonight but the 3-1 victory is very important for us.“

Eda Erdem Dündar, captain of Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL, said: "We could not find our game in the opening set. PROSTEJOV put a lot of pressure on us by their serving and we were making too many mistakes. But in set 2 we started to feel each other and started to play as a team and we took control. But we definitely need to make some improvements for the next matches."

Vizura RUMA (SRB) vs Chemik POLICE (POL) 0-3 (17-25, 21-25, 14-25)

• After an equal fight at the start of the first set, the team from Poland built a lead to 12-7 and then 22-16, mainly thanks to the service of Stefana Veljkovic.
• Vizura made many mistakes throughout the first set and Chemik finished it after a great attack of Natalia Medrzyk.
• The host team entered the second set very brave and with good spikes came to 8-4 and 16-13. After many long rallies, Chemik equalized on 18-18 and with a strong attack finished set 25-21. Vizura had their chance in this period but experience won in the end.
• In the third set, Vizura did not have the power to make a turnover. The Poles dominated and after 22 minutes they finished 25-14 and took the victory.
  

Quotes:

Katarina Lazovic, player of Vizura RUMA, said: "I'm glad that so many people have come to watch Volleyball, I do not remember when the hall was so full. I'm sad because the result was 3-0 but everyone who watched the game saw that we fought for each ball. We could have won the second set, but their experience won through. We have to be happy to compete in the Champions League and I know my team can do better and we will show it in the next games."
 
Stefana Veljkovic, Serbian middle blocker for Chemik POLICE said: "It was weird. After so many years to then play against a club in Serbia, my legs and hands were shaking. It's a special feeling. I was surprised at what team Vizura showed. I have not seen them before but they have a good future because they are talented. We still need to fix some things in the game, we have suffered a defeat in the domestic championship and it has disturbed us. Tonight we won 3-0, but there are still things to get better. I hope we will continue in this rhythm in the future."

For more information about tonights matches click here