25/01/2018 20:43
Italian ‘Panthers’ and Dinamo KAZAN make it three wins out of three
2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League - Women
Luxembourg, January 25, 2018. Imoco Volley and Dinamo KAZAN improved their win-loss record in the pool stage of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Women after pulling out victories in contrasting fashion on Thursday night. Imoco Volley came back from two sets down to edge Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL at the tiebreak – thus achieving the same feat as their compatriots from NOVARA two weeks ago – while Dinamo KAZAN recorded a comprehensive 3-0 win in their home match with Serbia’s Vizura RUMA. Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA claimed an easy 3-1 victory over Agel PROSTEJOV despite an unexpected setback in the third set while Volero ZÜRICH downed CL rookies Developres SkyRes RZESZOW in three sets to celebrate their first victory in Pool A.
Volero ZÜRICH (SUI) vs. Developres SkyRes RZESZOW (POL)
• Volero ZÜRICH trailed after every first technical timeout to turn the tables later in the set.
• Volero ZÜRICH dominated the game with 15 blocks – a season high in #CLVolleyW.
• Volero ZÜRICH top scorer Rosir Kalderón did not play today.
• Gergana Dimitrova, Laura Unternährer, and Alexandra Lazic all scored 12 points for Volero ZÜRICH, while Hélène Rousseaux could not lead RZESZOW to a victory despite scoring 17 points.
• Volero ZÜRICH only committed 10 unforced errors over the entire game – a #CLVolleyW season low.
Alexandra Lazic, outside hitter of Volero ZÜRICH: “I cannot find the words to describe the feelings after this win. We started with good vibes into the game. We wanted this victory so much. I am surprised that our game went so well. We played more in this constellation over the last period and it looks like we have found each other as a team. In the two previous games, we did not do well in our blocking game; that is why we worked a lot on it in our training. And we showed today that the hard work paid off.”
Hélène Rousseaux, outside hitter of Developres SkyRes RZESZOW: “We disappointed as a team today. Despite my 17 points, I have to say that I should have done better. Honestly, I cannot explain why we were not able to play our best Volleyball today. Maybe some members of our team got nervous when they saw that Rosir Kalderón was not in the starting six. Nevertheless, we just did not find our rhythm. The 15 blocking points on us prove it. Now we have to learn from this bitter defeat and do better in the upcoming game.”
Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL (TUR) vs. Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO (ITA) 2-3 (25-21, 27-25, 15-25, 17-25, 10-15)
• As in their previous home match with Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA, Fenerbahce wasted a 2-0 lead – and Imoco Volley came back strong to pull out a 3-2 victory.
• Imoco Volley claimed an early 8-5 lead in the first set but Fenerbahce clawed their way back to edge ahead (16-14); Imoco levelled the score at 18-all but Mia Jerkov’s block propelled another lead for the home side. Fenerbahce played very well towards the end of the set to secure a 25-21 win.
• Imoco Volley stormed again to an early 8-5 lead in the second set and the visitors kept the pace high with the help of Samantha Bricio. Fenerbahce came back strong to cut the deficit to two points (13-15) before drawing level at 22-all. The final section of the set was truly dramatic with Fenerbahce finally stamping a 27-25 win.
• The hosts were 8-7 up in the third set but Imoco Volley fought back to claim a four-point advantage at the second technical time-out. The visitors dominated the remaining of the set, thus securing a comprehensive 25-15 win.
• Imoco Volley continued their show in the fourth set (8-5, 16-11) and eventually restored equality in the match (25-17).
• Fenerbahce opened the tiebreak with two consecutive points but soon CONEGLIANO turned the tables around (9-6) and did not look back anymore (15-10).
• Samanta Fabris of Imoco Volley top scored with 19 points.
Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA (ITA) vs. Agel PROSTEJOV (CZE)
• Paola Egonu was the best scorer of the game with 17 points. She scored 15 in the first two sets and just two in the last two sets.
• Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA made the difference with the blocking points: the Italian girls scored 16 stuffs, while the Czech teams had just three blocks.
• Agel PROSTEJOV lost the third game in a row with the same result (1-3).
• Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA won their second game in the CEV Volleyball Champions League to claim second place in the current standing of Pool B.
• In the fourth and last set, NOVARA came back from 4-6 to 15-6 with a terrific 11-0 break while Stephanie Enright was serving.
Lauren Gibbemeyer, player of Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA: “We did really a good game and when we play like this, it is really hard for everyone to beat us. Congratulations also to our opponents: they did not give up when losing 2-0 and I am sure they will not give up even in the next game. We want to secure a spot in the Playoff phase: to achieve that, we need to win all the remaining games.”
Kathleen Weiss, player of Agel PROSTEJOV: “We still miss something to compete against such great teams like Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA or our other pool opponents. We can be happy that we won one set, like we already did against Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL and Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO, but we need to improve if we want to score more points.”
Dinamo KAZAN (RUS) vs. Vizura RUMA (SRB) 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-11)
• Two players of Zenit KAZAN, Matthew Anderson and Nikita Alekseev, came out to support their friends from Dinamo in their home match with the Serbian reigning national champions.
• Dinamo and Vizura delivered a close fight in the first set (8-6, 16-15) but the hosts scored six points in a row with Irina Koroleva standing behind the service line to move the score to 20-15 and pave the way towards a 25-18 win.
• Dinamo KAZAN showed some powerful attacks in the early stages of the second set (9-6) before Vizura drew level at 15-all. Such a close fight continued until the end with Dinamo emerging victorious at 25-23.
• Vizura could no longer keep the pace of the hosts in the third set and Dinamo sealed without any problems their 3-0 victory, the third in as many matches they have contested in Pool C.
• Natalya Mammadova of Dinamo KAZAN top scored with 13 points.
Alexander Perepelkin, assistant coach of Dinamo KAZAN: “Our task today was to win and we made it happen. Of course, it would be great to win all sets with the best possible score. However, we appreciate it that Vizura put up a fight, something we have been short of in the Russian championship. The opposing team managed to keep up for two sets but by sticking together we got through and took a 3-0 win.”
Natalya Mammadova, opposite hitter of Dinamo KAZAN: “Vizura is a very strong team that fights till the end. I think that the number of such opponents will increase in the Champions League. We are happy that today we took a 3-0 win and showed that we are much stronger because we will have a return game at their home and for sure it won’t be an easy one.”
Sladjana Eric, captain of Vizura RUMA: “I am so happy that for two sets we were able to show a really good game. We are working every day for a match like this. However, our domestic competition back home in Serbia is of a very low level. On top of this, we do not have any star players like those playing for Dinamo KAZAN.”
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