26/02/2019 22:00
Imoco Volley are back with a bang to secure quarterfinal spot
2019 CEV Volleyball Champions League - Women
Luxembourg, February 26, 2019. Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO showed their class and nerves of steel on Tuesday night as they routed LKS Commercecon LODZ 3-0 to secure the last spot available in the quarterfinals of the 2019 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Women where they join another two Italian teams – Savino Del Bene SCANDICCI and Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA. Actually, SCANDICCI suffered a setback in their last match in Pool D losing to Germany’s sensation SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN – but that match did not have much of a meaning for the Italian CL rookies since they had already secured first place in the pool last week.
Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO (ITA) vs. LKS Commercecon LODZ (POL) 3-0 (25-10, 25-12, 25-15)
• Imoco Volley knew they could only win 3-0 to stay in contention for a spot in the next round and came out with all guns blazing, especially with Samanta Fabris (who scored six points out of as many attempts) and Robin de Kruijf. CONEGLIANO stormed to an easy and speedy 25-10 win as LODZ simply could not keep their pace.
• Miriam Sylla and Kimberly Hill (six points alone) propelled Imoco to an 8-5 lead in the second set. Fabris extended the gap to 11-6 and even though LODZ tried to put up a fight, Imoco were just unstoppable (25-12).
• Sylla and De Kruijf secured an 8-3 advantage for the hosts in the third set before they moved the score to 15-5. Zuzanna Efimienko-Mlotkowska tried to help LODZ with her blocks but Imoco did not lose focus and concentration until they secured a 25-15 win and with it their spot in the next round, with Italian and Polish fans celebrating together because ‘Volleyball is different’.
Robin de Kruijf, middle blocker of Imoco Volley: “This match is the demonstration that everything is possible, and today it went well! We took on the game knowing that we could only win 3-0, and we did not have any other options. It was not easy, but we were good at securing a very important result and qualification for our team.”
Regiane Bidias, middle blocker of LKS Commercecon LODZ: “They played a great game, their play was too fast for us and we could not stop them, making too many mistakes from start to end.”
SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN (GER) vs. Savino Del Bene SCANDICCI (ITA) 3-1 (16-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-13)
• In front of a sell-out crowd, SCHWERIN caught a shaky start to the match and trailed 0-3; despite timeouts asked by their coach Felix Koslowski, the Germans failed to come back and SCANDICCI comfortably claimed the first set.
• SCHWERIN got back on track with the start of the second set, and even though they were not always that consistent, they still levelled the match on a set point cashed by McKenzie Adams.
• The local supporters created a great atmosphere while captain Jennifer Geerties shone with her spikes and blocks. Kimberly Drewniok closed the third set at 25-23 for the hosts.
• The German national cup winners were the dominant force in the fourth set where they stormed to a 25-13 landslide that paved the way to a 3-1 victory, their third win in as many home matches in Pool D.
• McKenzie Adams took the MVP honours as she top scored with 25 points.
Felix Koslowski, head coach of SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN: “We are so happy, as it took us only 48 hours to win another match after Sunday’s cup final. We made three changes to the starting six, but we played a very good Volleyball. I am so proud of my team. It was a very amazing CL season for us. We won all of our three home matches, including two against teams from Italy. That is amazing!”
Carlo Parisi, head coach of Savino Del Bene SCANDICCI: “Congratulations to SCHWERIN on their national cup title and on this victory as well. We did not play a good match because the focus was not there. I am sorry about this.”
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