Luxembourg, February 7, 2018.  The 2018 Champions League was in full flow as we passed the mid point of the 4th Round. All four teams were in action in both Pool A and Pool B, where in the former CSM Volei Alba BLAJ made if four wins in four after winning a five set thriller against ASPTT MULHOUSE VB and Volero ZÜRICH took a step towards securing second place with a 3-1 win against Developres SkyRes RZESZOW.  Over in Pool B in the early match between Agel PROSTEJOV and Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA the result went with recent form as the Italian side secured a comfortable straight sets victory.  The evening ended with Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO coming back from two sets down at home to Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL to ensure they also remained unbeaten four legs in.

Wednesdays results in full:

CSM Volei Alba BLAJ (ROU) vs. ASPTT MULHOUSE VB (FRA) 3-2 (15-25, 25-21, 20-25, 28-26, 15-13)

• CSM Volei Alba BLAJ got their 4th victory in a row in Pool A and have the best position in the quest for a much-desired spot in the Playoffs 6.
• The Romanian National Champions came back from behind and won in five sets in a very spectacular match. 
• There were 1,900 spectators in the Transilvania Hall Center of Sibiu, which made a very exciting atmosphere.
• Ana Cleger (CSM Volei Alba BLAJ) made 31 points for the host team and Britt Herbots top scored with 18 points for the French Champions.

Quotes:

Darko Zakoc, coach of CSM Volei Alba BLAJ: "As I said before the game, it was a really hard match, MULHOUSE is a very dangerous team, who never give up. We started badly, they blocked us very well, we were confused in the first set, we were back in the second set, where I tried to change something, we were lucky in some moments, but in the end we won. I would like to thank our fans, they were great and they really helped us today."

Selime Ilyasoglu, player for CSM Volei Alba BLAJ: "It was such a tough game, we didn’t expect that, because we won in the first game. I’m glad that we get two points and we are still at the top of Pool A and that’s the most important thing. Now we have to focus on our regular season in Romania, because we have to fight for the title."

Magali Magail, coach of ASPTT MULHOUSE VB: "It was an amazing fight, I think we fought well, especially in defence, the best team won today and I want to congratulate BLAJ."

Hayley Spelman, player of ASPTT MULHOUSE VB: "I am very disappointed because we lost, it was a great game, we played better than in first match against them, they have a great time, but we were good tonight too. We fought well, we came back, but I think we could have got more."

Developres SkyRes RZESZOW (POL) vs. Volero ZÜRICH (SUI) 1-3 (16-25, 25-18, 22-25, 22-25)

• An exciting match ended after 105 minutes with Volero taking 93 points in total to the 85 scored by the Polish side.
• Alexandra Lazic best scored with 21 points for the Swiss side, while Hélène Rousseaux topped the charts for the home side scoring 16 points in four sets.
• Monika Ptak was the best in spiking with a 50% success rate while Klaudia Kaczorowska was the best receiver of the day in the home team with 67% positive and 33% perfect reception.
• Developres SkyRes RZESZOW scored an ace from the service line three times, and their opponents four times.  In terms of blocking it was eight to Developres SkyRes while Volero had 13 blocks.    
• Volero ZÜRICH now sit second in Pool A with seven points and have their sights firmly fixed reaching the Playoffs.
  
  

Quotes:

Alexandra Lazic of Volero ZÜRICH said: "I feel great. We knew that the match at their home court would be tough, but we were well prepared. We lost one set because we had no attack at that time, we were not able to finish the balls and their defence was really good. Our other opponent is ASPTT MULHOUSE, and I believe we can win that match as well. The first match against them was a little bit shaky, but now we showed that we can win in this competition and we are ready to win against them as well as we did tonight."

Iuliia Andrushka of Developres SkyRes RZESZOW: "I can’t say very clearly what was missing today, but maybe we were a little bit stopped in the first set and lost a little bit of concentration. We were leading by a number of points, but we were not able to use this to our advantage. It’s a pity for us because we prepared for that team for a long time and we believed that we could win. I want to say sorry for our spectators that we could not achieve our goal tonight. Now we have to focus on the upcoming league match against KSZO Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski."

Agel PROSTEJOV (CZE) vs. Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA (ITA) 0-3 (24-26, 13-25, 15-25)

• The first set was the key to the final result of the match. The hosts started very well and it looked promising for them also at the end of the opening set (21-18 and 23-21), and they even had a set-point. Despite this fact, set 1 ended in a 24-26 loss for the home side.
• After that the travelling team began to orchestrate the game and actually did better in all fundamentals.
• The most valuable player for PROSTEJOV was Laura Emonts Weihenmeier, who was the only one to score at least 10 points. On the other hand, NOVARA's leading players were Celeste Plak, Lauren Gibbemeyer (both with 14 points) and Paola Egonu (13 points).
• Agel PROSTEJOV suffered the fourth consecutive defeat in Pool B and they have not earned a single point yet.
• Igor Gorgonzola scored another win and put themselves on the right track to the Playoffs.
• The Italian club was supported by a bold fan in the crammed sports hall. Francesca Piccinini, the Italian captain, rewarded him with an original volleyball uniform after the match.

Quotes:

Miroslav Cada, head coach of Agel PROSTEJOV, commented: "It was a close game at the beginning, but mainly due to the mistakes made on the oother side of the net. As soon as the Italians stopped making errors, the match became very clear. In sets 2 and 3 we had no chance, it was almost impossible for us to attack and defend. The big strengths of NOVARA were obvious. It is a pity that we did not seize our opportunity in the opening set. We should have played a better game."

Massimo Barbolini, head coach of Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA, said: "It was a very important match for us and we are happy with the 3-0 result. PROSTEJOV delivered an excellent performance at the start where they took even a three-point lead (21-18). I am proud of my team because we finally managed to win the first set, even though it was not easy. Then we played together as a team and with more attention, so the opponent had no chance in sets 2 and 3. It is very important to get three points in Pool B."

Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO (ITA) vs. Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL (TUR) 3-2 (20-25, 18-25, 25-18, 25-22, 15-11)

• Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL arrived in Italy for this crucial match without some important players who were out injured, while it was a similar story for Imoco who couldn't use Raphaela Folie and had Samanta Fabris on the bench as she was now fully fit.
• The Panthers started well (13-10), but as Polina Rahimova started to play the Turkish blocking wall made the difference and Fenerbahce won the first set to 20 points.
• In the second set the match was in balance until 7-7, then the travelling side accelerated to 13 points thanks to a powerful attack.  From here Rahimova and Dicle Nur Babat pushed their team to a 2-0 lead (25-18) – as they had two weeks earlier in the same fixture in the Turkish capital.
• In the third set Imoco Volley looked more concentrated and were able to pick up the their pace and make less mistakes than before: strong blocking from Robin de Kruijf and good attacks for the couple Samantha Bricio and Samanta Fabris were the key to go 13-8.  The home sides were cheered on by 3,530 fans who started to dream as CONEGLIANO closed out the third 25-18.
• The fourth set was very tight (16-16) with the two teams fighting but too many mistakes from Imoco and a good attack of Damla Cakiroglu brought Fenerbahce to the twenties (20-16). Here the home side, led by De Kruijf, fought back strongly again and levelled the match at 2-2 (25-22).
• At the beginning of the tiebreak Imoco Volley started well (8-5) with Kimberly Hill excelling.  Bricio served strong with two aces before De Kruijf closed the second incredible comeback and Imoco sealed a 15 to 11 win to maintain their unbeaten record in Pool B.
  

Quotes:

Samantha Bricio of Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO said: "We didn't start well in the first two sets, but we were brave to restart our game and to win for the second time an incredible tiebreak!  Fortunately we woke up in the right moment like two weeks ago, now we are very tired, but it is a good job from all the team."

Polina Rahimova of Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL reflected: "Unfortunately we played without important players in the position of spiker, despite this we could have won 3-0 if we had played with less mistakes at the end of the third set. Imoco Volley is a strong team, but our mistakes made the difference tonight."

Click here for more information on the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League.