Luxembourg, December 19, 2018.  Wednesday night treated European Volleyball fans to five more high level matches, as things started to heat up in the Eighth Finals of the 2019 edition of the CEV Volleyball Cup.  With the return legs early next year, all were keen to go into the festive period with one foot already in the quarter-finals.  CSM Volei Alba BLAJ exceeded their wildest dreams last season (finishing second in the Champions League), and they remain on course for another European medal in 2019 winning in straight sets.  Yenisei KRASNOYARSK and Stiinta BACAU both came through close five set matches and will know there is still work to do in the away matches. Yamamay e-work BUSTO ARSIZIO dominated their game from start to finish and the Czech side VK UP OLOMOUC left Belgium with a crucial 3-1 victory.

CSM Volei Alba BLAJ (ROU) vs. VK PROSTEJOV (CZE) 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-16)

BLAJ ended the year with a straight sets victory against the VK PROSTEJOV and took a serious step towards qualifying for the quarterfinals of the CEV Cup.  Last years Champions League runners up did not leave their opponent with any chance and won in just 61 minutes of play.

Sonja Newcombe and Nadja Ninkovic scored the most points in the field, 12 each, in a match where the winner has never really in doubt. It was a festive evening for the 1,500 spectators, who created a special atmosphere in Transilvania Hall in Sibiu.

Darko Zakoc, head coach of the hosts, was able to use the entire team in the Wednesday match, being pleased with his team's performance: "The girls respected what I asked of them and I did not have any real emotions in this match. We have the first chance to qualify, but we do not underestimate the opponent, in the Czech Republic it will be another game, so we have to be careful. I want to thank the fans, because they have always been with us, especially in difficult moments, and have always created a beautiful atmosphere."

In the Krasnoyarsk House of Sport named after Mikhail Dvorkin, Russian club Yenisei KRASNOYARSK met the Turkish side of Galatasaray ISTANBUL.
In the first set, the guests owned the initiative, starting actively from the first minutes and building a small lead. Yenisei gradually pulled it back, but no soon as they were level again Galatasaray raised their level. At the end of the set, Yenisei trailed 20-22 and there were chances to level the score. But Galatasaray retained their concentration and took the first set.

The second set swung both ways, with the home side trailing 8-14 before things completely reversed. With the score back to 11-14, the Galatasaray head coach was forced to take a time out but he was powerless to stop the home side levelling the score at 19-19.  Yenisei then went ahead and finished the set 25-22.  In the third set, the team from Turkey were stronger and Yenisei struggled with their service reception and lost the set by six points.

A good game in the fourth set with their defense and block helped Yenisei to get closer to Galatasaray. Oleksandra Peretiatko produced a good serving run and the score became even 17-17. At the end of the set, the Krasnoyarsk volleyball players were stronger and took it to 23 points.  In the tie-break, Yenisei started nervously and went behind, but showed character and won the match with a score 15-11.

Ataman Güneyligil, Galatasaray head coach: “Yenisei is a good team. Today they showed a good game. Our team did not play very well. Krasnoyarsk won on the block, they played well in defence. In the second and fourth sets they performed very well. We will see what happens in the second match.”

Alexander Koshkin, Yenisei head coach: “Congratulations to all on the victory. A very difficult match for us both psychologically and physically. A lot of energy was given. I was disappointed when we lost points without a fight. We are working on it. Nothing is clear yet. We won, but we have a match in Turkey ahead.”

UVC Holding GRAZ (AUT) vs. Yamamay e-work BUSTO ARSIZIO (ITA) 0-3 (11-25, 21-25, 14-25)

Already before the match the home team of Graz knew that it was going to be a “Mission Impossible” against the iconic team of Yamamay e-work BUSTO ARSIZIO.  The girls of the home side started therefore quite nervously with too much respect for their opponents.  Their game did not function as normal and the Italians were able to take a clear set win 25-11.

After that the home team started well in the second set and fought bravely and playing way better than they probably expected. Ursula Ehrhart and her team played above their limit but it was still not enough to level the match. Yamamay had to fight harder and took a 2-0 lead, with a more respectable score of 25-21.

Also in the third set Dusan Jesenko’s side were able to keep up with the Italian team, but the travelling side were always leading and every time GRAZ came closer they stepped their game up.  It was a really good performance of the UVC Holding GRAZ team, but it wasn’t enough to beat the giant from Italy.

Frederick Laure, Manager of UVC Holding GRAZ: “After the second set we were able to step up our game and compete against Yamamay. We knew beforehand that the game was a real challenge but I am very satisfied with the performance of our team. Now we have to focus back on the Austrian championship on Saturday.”

Eva Dumphart, captain of UVC Holding GRAZ: “I am proud of our game today. Yamamay are above our level but we kept fighting and were able to play our best. Now we have to take this performance to our next game in the championship."

Other results from matches that took place tonight:

Stiinta BACAU (ROU) vs. SLIEDRECHT Sport (NED) 3-2 (25-21, 17-25, 25-14, 17-25, 16-14)

Asterix Avo BEVEREN (BEL) vs. VK UP OLOMOUC (CZE) 1-3 (26-28, 25-16, 17-25, 15-25)

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