18/05/2019 22:30
Historic #SuperFinalsBerlin a terrific success
CEV Champions League Volley 2019 Super Finals
Berlin, Germany, May 18, 2019. The historic CEV Champions League Volley 2019 Super Finals lived up to everyone’s expectations! With as many as 9,046 fans in attendance at the iconic Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin, and many more following the matches across the globe via TV and Internet, Europe have found their new ‘Kings’ and ‘Queens’ in Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA and Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA to account for a night to remember for European Volleyball. Moreover, the winning teams travel home with a record-breaking € 400,000 purse – on a day when a total € 1.2 million were at stake!
It was the very first time in the history of the sport that the top men’s and women’s teams played at the same venue and on the very same day with Europe’s most coveted crown at stake. Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA ended a Russian reign that had been lasting since 2012 – as they edged six-time winners Zenit KAZAN 3-1 after coming back from a rather slow start to their Super Final. Osmany Juantorena deservedly received the trophy for the Most Valuable Player of the event – to add another accolade to his third #CLVolleyM title to go with those he won with TRENTINO Volley in 2010 and 2011.
Earlier in the afternoon, Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA claimed the women’s final with Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO by the same score (3-1) to seize their first European trophy. Their captain Francesca Piccinini, 40, lifted the sixth Champions League trophy of an unrivalled career – actually the seventh if we count the gold medal she won in the former Champions Cup late in the 90s. Paola Egonu, 20, was the MVP of the Super Final to cement her status of Volleyball superstar after the startling performance she delivered at last year’s World Championship.
“I am very proud of what we delivered together with our colleagues and friends from the German Volleyball Federation, Volleyball Bundesliga, the BERLIN Recycling Volleys and the city of Berlin,” said CEV President Aleksandar Boričić. “Together we introduced a revolutionary concept and delivered a truly successful event that fans and media alike enjoyed to the fullest. The very fact that they all stayed for the medal ceremony is testament to the enjoyment they felt – they were all part of an experience that we very much look forward to repeating next year.”
For further information, visit the official event website http://clvolley.cev.eu.
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