Luxembourg, February 19, 2020. The 4th round of Champions League has been completed, with 8 teams qualified through to the quarter-finals. They are as follows: Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE (6-0), Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA (6-0), Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA (6-0), JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel (5-1), Fakel NOVY URENGOY (5-1), Kuzbass KEMEROVO (4-2), Knack ROESELARE (4-2), & Itas TRENTINO (4-2). Some teams needed positive results in the last leg in order to qualify. Read about those results below.
Pool A
Trentino were with their back against the wall after dropping two sets in a row in their last match in Pool A against Jihostroj České Budějovice. They eventually fought their way back, securing a 3-2 victory (21-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-22, 15-11) which was enough to seal their spot in the quarterfinals as one of the three runners-up with the best result across all pools. The atmosphere was truly ‘hot’ as the Czechs played their last European match this season before a sell-out crowd of 2,500 fans.
Simone Giannelli, setter of Trentino Itas: “I think that it was a difficult match because we knew that they can play extremely well at home. However, I am still very happy for my team and for the outcome.”
Marek Zmrhal, spiker of Jihostroj: “It’s a shame that we lost. We started off really well, the first two sets were absolutely amazing, we were so euphoric – and we showed some awesome Volleyball. After that, we relaxed a bit and started to make mistakes. Maybe we got a bit scared that we could actually beat Trentino 3-0. Anyway, Trento started to play their game – without flaws, and on the contrary we made some more errors and this cost us the victory.”
Undisputed pool leaders Cucine Lube Civitanova completed a clean sweep of their matches with a 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-18, 25-22) victory over Fenerbahce, which accounts for their 17th straight win in the competition. Cucine Lube opted for a starting six including mostly their sub-in players, with the only exception of Yoandy Leal, who unusually played as opposite. Jacopo Massari was the best scorer of the match with 19 points (16/25 in attack). Leal added 17 to the count of the home side, while Izzet Ünver scored 19 times for the visitors. Later this weekend, Lube will be playing Trentino in the semi-finals of the Italian national cup at Unipol Arena in Bologna.
Jacopo Massari, player of Cucine Lube: “Our first position in the pool was already secured before the match, but we really wanted to end this phase of the competition with a 6-0 record, and it is much important that we finally achieved our goal. Now we wait for the drawing of lots and look confidently forward to the next stage of the competition.”
Pool B
Rookies Fakel Novy Urengoy secured first place in Pool B with a 3-2 away victory over ACH Volley Ljubljana. With a record of five wins in six matches, the Russians could not have asked for a better performance in the pool stage. However, they had to fight back from a 1-2 deficit against the multiple Slovenian champions before pulling out a 3-2 win (25-18, 23-25, 20-25, 25-18, 15-11), propelled by 24 points scored by Denis Bogdan.
Matija Pleško, player of ACH Volley Ljubljana: “Maybe we started the fourth set a bit too softly, because otherwise we could have won 3-1. After that, it went how it went. It showed in the fifth that experience was on their side and they took what we offered them. This season I am satisfied with my team’s approach, but it could have gone better in terms of results. We did not lose any game too badly, despite the fact that we played against giant teams. I am especially happy that some young players proved themselves and that we can count on them.”
Denis Bogdan, player of Fakel Novy Urengoy: “We expected a tough game but not a five-set match. Like all good European teams, they serve really well with minimum mistakes, so we needed to have a good reception. At the end, we managed to win and now in the quarterfinals we know we have a tough job, because all teams are very good.”
Kuzbass Kemerovo beat Berlin Recycling Volleys 3-2 (22-25, 25-19, 25-14, 20-25, 15-8) to improve their win-loss record to 4-2 and secure their spot in the quarterfinals in what is their maiden appearance in the CEV Champions League. Kuzbass came back from one set down before dissipating a 2-1 lead but the hosts were truly dominant in the tiebreak.
Igor Kobzar, setter of Kuzbass: “It is very important that we won today. We had a lot of pressure on us and I do not know if our fans felt it, but it was in the air. It is an important victory; we needed it a lot, so the game did not go easy. It is an experience of its own and there will be many more games like this one, so we have to learn how to play such must-win matches.”
Cedric Enard, head coach of BERLIN Recycling Volleys: “I think we were not stable enough and consistent with our service and reception in order to win the game, but at some stages of the match we did a good job. However, there was a lack of consistency and if you play this way against Kuzbass, eventually you end up falling behind. Maybe we did not have enough focus, because just a few days ago, we played the cup final in Germany and my players were not able to re-focus again. I do not know. There is no excuse and Kemerovo deserved to win this game.”
Pool C
Six-time winners Zenit Kazan edged Halkbank 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-19, 25-15) but despite this, they eventually ended up third in their pool after Greenyard Maaseik beat Jastrzebski Wegiel later in the evening. This means that Zenit have failed to make it through the pool stage of the competition for the first time since the 2007/2008 season. Earvin Ngapeth, outside spiker of Zenit, became the MVP of the match with his brilliant overall statistics: he successfully finished 50% of his attacks (18/36), adding one ace and one block to the count, with zero mistakes in reception.
Faik Samed Günes, captain of Halkbank: “We fought to the very end against a very strong team. We were quite aware that we would not go to the playoffs this season and just enjoyed the game.”
Alexey Verbov, head coach of Zenit: “In the first set we were leading 19-12, but the Turkish club flipped the charts and the score turned into 19-21. It is all the same from match to match, and we, as a whole team, must overcome it. In the second set the Turks prevailed, they simply played better, and we had problems with finishing attacks at good reception, which is quite strange for us.”
With a 3-2 win (25-23, 20-25, 19-25, 25-22, 15-8) over pool winners Jastrzebski Wegiel, Greenyard Maaseik ended their Champions League campaign with a bang. Even though the Belgian champions posted their best pool result in seven years, their three tiebreak victories and an unbeaten record at home were not enough to reach the quarterfinals. Despite having team captain Jelte Maan out due to a shoulder injury, Greenyard Maaseik caught a promising start to the match, before the visitors responded well with the help of their German power spiker Christian Fromm. The Estonian opposite Renee Teppan, newly recruited as a medical joker, pushed his teammates to a stunning 15-8 triumph in the tiebreak.
Joel Banks, coach of Maaseik: “I am standing here with mixed emotions. I am very proud of my players: we conquered three victories at home and an extra win on the road in a very strong group with Kazan and Jastrzebski Wegiel and yet we do not qualify for the quarterfinals. That is a tough conclusion. Yet, I’m happy for another reason: if you can win three tiebreaks in Champions League, you must be mentally very strong.”
Jonas Kvalen, player of Maaseik: “This was a very hard fight, because Jastrzebski was playing very well but we have a very strong crowd in Maaseik and once again we showed a big fighting spirit. So I’m very happy with this win.”
Pool D
Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia emulated their compatriots of Cucine Lube to complete a clean sweep of their matches in Pool D, doing so by dispatching Verva Warszawa Orlen Paliwa 3-1 (25-17, 25-27, 25-17, 25-19). Fabio Ricci was the MVP of the match with 11 points, including two blocks and a 90% success rate in attack.
Roberto Russo, player of Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia: “We served well tonight. The defence was also good. We were good at not letting them play close to the net. Each of us played well.”
Andrea Anastasi, head coach of Warszawa: “Tonight we did not play at our best, especially with our service. Our blocks were quite good, but as I already said, we were not good and consistent enough.”
Tours VB bid farewell to the competition with a 3-1 home victory (25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 25-17) over Benfica Lisboa to finish second in their pool – yet with three wins ‘only’, they could not make it to the quarterfinals. Home star Nathan Wounembaina was the MVP of the match.
Maxime Capet, player of Tours VB: “It was a good game to play, with a great intensity even if we knew that both teams were out of contention for a spot in the quarterfinals. It was my first match as first opposite, and I am very proud of what we did; we are not among the three best pool runners-up but we are second of the pool. It’s really a good boost for the rest of the season.”
Nuno Pinheiro, player of Benfica: “It was a nice game, and that’s what we wanted, to give a good show and finish this European journey in a good way. We have to be happy and proud. It is important to gain experience with this competition, and maybe we will be back next season.”
Pool E
Despite some major changes to their usual starting six as they had secured first place in the pool already, Zaksa Kedzierzyn-Kozle beat VfB Friedrichshafen 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-22) to complete a historic clean sweep of their pool matches. Przemysław Stępień was the eventual MVP as Piotr Łukasik top scored for the home side with 13 points, while Nikola Gjorgiev chipped in with 15 for the visitors from Germany.
Nikola Grbić, head coach of Zaksa: “I am glad that the players who played less in the league were able to perform so well and meet their pre-match goals. This means that I have many valuable players who can help the team at any time.”
Nikola Gjorgiev, player of VfB Friedrichshafen: “We could have surprised them at least in one set, but the rival was able to use almost every mistake we made and deservedly won, but I am glad that we showed ourselves from the good side fighting as an equal opponent.”
Much to the delight of some 1,650 home fans, Knack Roeselare claimed a 3-0 victory (28-26, 25-18, 25-20) over Vojvodina Novi Sad to punch a ticket to the quarterfinals. Libero Dennis Deroey received the award for MVP of the match. Top scorer was home star Hendrik Tuerlinckx with 19 points, while Pavle Peric registered 16 points for the losing side.
Sinisa Gavrancic, coach of Vojvodina Novi Sad: “We had some chances in the first set and at the beginning of the second set. I want to congratulate my team, which is still a very young team. Our goal was to reach the group stage of the Champions League. This campaign was a good experience for my team but I also want to congratulate Knack Roeselare. They deserved to win this match and continue on to the quarterfinals.”
Steven Vanmedegael, coach of Knack Roeselare: “We took a bad start with some individual errors. We had difficulties to deliver our best performance but we slowly started playing better. The key was our better play in block-defence and our little amount of errors. I want to congratulate my team on their best performance in this edition of the Champions League. Now it is waiting until tomorrow afternoon to know our opponent in the next round. Will it be Civitanova with setter Stijn D’Hulst, a former player of our club, or Perugia with coach Vital Heynen or Jastrzebski from Poland?”
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