Luxembourg, November 14, 2019.  There was no doubt as to which team was the better one in the #CLVolleyM Match of the Week between Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA (FIN) and Shakhtior SOLIGORSK (BLR). The Belarusian side played their best Volleyball when it mattered. They have won both Round 2 matches 3-0, setting them up for two meetings with Vojvodina NS Seme NOVI SAD, the Serbian champions. Just two more games stand between them and the group stage of the CEV Champions League Volley 2020 - Men.

Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA (FIN) vs. Shakhtior SOLIGORSK (BLR) 0-3 (22-25, 22-25, 21-25)

•    The 1,238 people attending the Match of the Week in Sastamala, Finland saw the home team having the better start to the match. But SOLIGORSK turned things around at the half-way mark, before securing the opening set 25-22. This early setback had quite a huge impact on the game for the hosts from Finland.
•    The second set was almost a copy of the first. The team from Belarus played their best Volleyball when it mattered the most. By winning the second set 25-22, they qualified for Round 3 of Europe's top club competition.
•    Shakhtior will face Serbian champions Vojvodina NS Seme NOVI SAD in Round 3 of the Champions League. The first leg will be played November 21.
•    SASTAMALA will continue their European campaign in the CEV Cup, where they will play Hypo Tirol AlpenVolleys HACHING of Germany in the 16th Finals.
•    Niko Suihkonen was the highest scoring player on the court Thursday in Finland, as he managed to put 15 points on the board for SASTAMALA. Danilo Pavlović scored 14 for the victors.
•    Setter Aliaksei Kurash (2 aces) and Viacheslau Charapovich (4 aces) delivered a very solid performance for the visitors while standing behind the service line.  
•    The home crowd deserved a big applause to Eduard Venski, a legendary player of SASTAMALA. After spending many years in Finland during his competitive career, Venski is now the President of the Belarus Volleyball Federation and on Thursday night, he served as a translator for Shakhtior during the post-match press conference.
•    After this loss, the European Cups record of SASTAMALA has ‘worsened’ to 31 wins and 23 losses in 54 matches; the win-loss record at home stands at 21-8.

Janne Kangaskokko, head coach of Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA: “Our reception was a big disappointment for me tonight. It has been our best asset so far, but not today. That is what makes me sad the most. We continue to work, since this is the only way to achieve better results, like always.”

Viktar Beksha, head coach of Shakhtior SOLIGORSK: “Qualifying from this round was our first step towards reaching our goal, which is playing in the pool stage of the competition. There was a great atmosphere tonight here at Sastamala. We started a little bad, but the second set was especially good for us.”

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