Luxembourg, March 21, 2018. Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA claimed a 3-2 victory vs. Galatasaray SK ISTANBUL in the first Playoff 6 matchup of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Women that was played on Wednesday in Istanbul, Turkey. The Italian side started well, winning the first set, but in the next two let the home team take the lead. The most stressful moment for the players of Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA was the second set when they lost by 7-25. It took them 123 minutes, but eventually the Italians managed to take the win in a tiebreak. Paola Egonu from the winning team was the Best Player of the match, scoring 26 points. In the other match scheduled for today and played in Treviso, Italy the power of Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO left no doubts about who was better on the court, taking a straight 3-0 win vs. the Russian heavyweight of Dinamo KAZAN. The Italians were in total control of the match. Samanta Fabris from CONEGLIANO was leading her team towards a flying win by scoring 18 points.
Galatasaray SK ISTANBUL (TUR) vs. Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA (ITA) 2-3 (21-25, 25-7, 25-16, 21-15, 10-15)
• Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA started with a 3-1 lead in the beginning of the first set. The players around head coach Massimo Barbolini showed great skills in blocking, making two. By the time of the first technical time out they were leading by one point. Galatasaray SK ISTANBUL brought back the intrigue in the set by making the score equal at 10-10. The Italian side were ahead by 16-13 by the second technical break. The home team showed a real fighting spirit but Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA won the first set with 25-21, with their star player Paola Egonu making three blocks and scoring eight points.
• Galatasaray stormed to a 9-0 lead in the second set with Gamze Alikaya’s being on service and made the point difference even bigger by the second technical break (16-3). They kept their dominance and the second set ended in a landslide 25-7 victory. The bad news for the home side was the injury that Tatiana Kosheleva got in the middle of this set. She suffered from a knee problem and wasn’t able to return to the court. Neslihan Demir Güler was the top scorer of this set with five points.
• It was a close game in the third set until the second technical time out. Wtih good services and many block points, Galatasaray SK ISTANBUL showed their best on the field. Seda Aslanyürek proved also to be a good backup for Tatiana Kosheleva scoring five points. Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA made four reception and three service errors during this part of the match and the team from Istanbul closed it by 25-16.
• Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA took a small lead in the early stages of the fourth set. They were able to control the game and kept on having the leading role with a comfortable difference of two points by 16-14. However, Galatasaray SK ISTANBUL got back with Seda’s three consevutive points moving the score to 19-18. The Italian side didn’t let any big surprises happen anymore and retook their lead, before closing this set by 25-21.
• In the decisive set Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA performed on their highest level, especially with Egonu and Celeste Plak. The visitors won the fifth set by 15-10 and this way they have gained a big advantage before the second match from this Playoffs phase.
• The second leg will be played on 5th April in Italy.
Sinead Jack, player of Galatasaray SK ISTANBUL: “We made lots of errors. But I think this is just a lesson for us before the next game. I believe in my team. Tatiana Kosheleva’s injury affected us. And I hope it is nothing serious but Seda [Aslanyürek] played also very well.”
Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO (ITA) vs. Dinamo KAZAN (RUS) 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-17)
• “Palaverde” in Treviso hosted the Match of the Week in this round of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League - Women between the teams of Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO and Dinamo KAZAN.
• There were important players missing on the court from both teams - Megan Easy and Robin de Kruijf for the Italian Panthers, while Elitsa Vasileva couldn’t help the Russians due to an injury she suffered from in the Playoffs in Russia.
• In the beginning of the first set Dinamo KAZAN claimed a small lead (6-3), but the players of Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO responded well – Samantha Bricio amazed the spectators with great skills on serve. Thanks to the points made by Samanta Fabris and Kimberly Hill, the Italians seemed to be taking total control of the game. The Croatian opposite (nine points in the first set) was definitely the best on the court in these moments, continuing to score point after point for the Panthers (20-17), while the opponents from Dinamo KAZAN seemed to be without an answer to the situation. In the end of this part of the match, Anna Danesi helped with a great block. An ace of Elisa Cella put an end to this set (25-19 for the home side).
• Irina Voronkova from the visiting team opened the second set with good play from the service line (2-0). But Joanna Wolosz didn’t allow anything more serious to happen, as she performed good and helped her team make the score equal. The hosts outclassed their opponents in these moments with good actions on serve and blocking. The players of Daniele Santarelli showed services that caused a lot of problems in defence for Dinamo KAZAN. CONEGLIANO made an even bigger point gap (11-5), but Natalya Mammadova and Irina Voronkova could react properly, closing in for the Russian side (11-8). However, the Italian Panthers were “flying” , never letting the opposite team to put them in real trouble. Imoco Volley continued to play well in the different aspects of the game, with just a few errors and a lot of determination: again Samanta Fabris was shining at 19-12, making it difficult for Dinamo KAZAN to keep the rhythm of the game. The Italians closed this part by 25-18 with the “fast" play by Danesi.
• The home team started very well also in the third set (6-1) with tough service and strong spikes by Bricio. Imoco Volley were making it very difficult for the Dinamo’s players with fast services (14-8). Mammadova was trying to help her team get back into the game and for a moment it seemed that Dinamo KAZAN could fight their way back (15-13). Kim Hill was the key player in the following minutes, showing great volleyball skills, giving Imoco “wings to fly” (21-14). It was almost impossible for Dinamo KAZAN to respond and Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO congratulated themselves with a straight 3-0 win (25-17 in the third set), as Dinamo KAZAN suffered their first loss in the 2018 edition of the CEV Volleyball Champions League after six straight wins in Pool C.
Kimberly Hill, player of Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO: "We are surprised by our good game and by a very quick victory. We played very well, with concentration and excellent service that always put our opponents in difficulty. After experiencing a difficult period in the last few weeks, we are finding our best game and in this match we showed our strength. Now we must continue like this also in second match in Kazan, our goal is to reach the Final Four."
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