04/03/2020 22:02
Away wins give Zaksa, Perugia, Lube advantage in quest for men's Champions League semis
CEV Champions League Volley 2020 - Men
Luxembourg, March 4, 2020. Poland's Zaksa Kedzierzyn-Kozle and Italy's Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia enjoy an advantage in the race to make the 2020 men's Champions League semifinals, after both scored away wins in Russia over Kuzbass Kemerovo and Fakel Novy Urengoy Wednesday evening in the first leg of the quarterfinals, as do defending champions Cucine Lube Civitanova who shut out Knack Roeselare in Belgium.
With both Kuzbass and Fakel now in danger of crashing out, it could be the first time since 2002 that the Champions League semifinals would be without Russian representation.
Twice they trailed, twice they equalised, and then Zaksa ran away with the tie-break to beat Kuzbass 3-2 (22-25, 26-24, 17-25, 28-26, 16-14).
Zaksa now need just a straightforward win with any score at home next week to make the semifinals.
With no team opening up a gap of more than two points at any moment in the second set (other than a very brief 4-0 lead of the hosts at the start), Zaksa were first to reach set point at 24-23. Kuzbass tied again in a bid to go two sets up, but the visitors got it right in their second try to draw level.
In somewhat similar fashion in the fourth, Zaksa missed out on two set points at 22-24 and another two later on, before Mikhail Shcherbakov hit wide from the middle to allow a tie-break. It was Shcherbakov's first error in the game, who up to that moment had 5/6 in attack.
But Kuzbass had little fight left in them after that, allowing Zaksa to open up a lead of as many as six points in the tie-break at 4-10 and even reaching match point with two to spare as Kuzbass rallied back in a desperate bid to salvage the game. The hosts cancelled both these match points, but gave Zaksa another chance following a service error, before Kamil Semeniuk thundered home an ace to wrap it all up.
It was Semeniuk's 19th point in the game, allowing the 23-year-old to beat teammate Arpad Baroti of Hungary at the post as Zaksa's best scorer - though it was Kuzbass' Victor Poletaev who registered the match high of 24.
A little later in Novy Urengoy, Perugia overwhelmed Fakel for a 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 22-25, 25-21) win that leaves the Italian side needing just two sets next week in their bid to make the semifinals for the fourth straight season.
Fakel came from behind to grab the third set and deny Perugia a straight-set sweep, but otherwise the Italian side was very much in control and gradually built up a safe lead in the fourth that proved enough to see them through to the end.
Serbia's Aleksandar Atanasijevic with 17 points and Cuba-born Wilfredo Leon with 16 were Perugia's top scorers as the visitors produced a more solid reception and subsequently more efficient attack, though the game's top scorer was Hungary's Krisztian Padar with 21 for Fakel.
Cucine Lube Civitanova wrapped up the action with the day's third away win 3-0 (31-29, 25-14, 25-16) over Knack Roeselare, now needing two sets in the return leg next week.
The Belgian side came from behind in the first set but missed out on six opportunities in the first set to take an overall lead, as Lube cancelled all their set points before themselves going ahead to finish it on the first chance they got.
But that was about the extent of the hosts' resistance, as Lube cruised on to a comfortable victory, with some very well-distributed scoring all around.
Osmany Juantorena got the match high of 15, but all other Lube players (other than setter Bruno Rezende of Brazil) scored in double digits.
Lube applied pressure from the service line, scoring off eleven aces in total (to the Belgian side's three) - six of them in the second set alone.
The fourth of the men's quarterfinals, between Italy's Trentino Itas and Poland's Jastrzebski Wegiel, originally scheduled for Thursday, has been postoponed due to national authorities' restrictions over coronavirus concerns.
Match by match:
Kuzbass KEMEROVO (RUS) vs Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE (POL) 2-3 (25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 26-28, 14-16)
"I think that we missed chances. It was a game where we created a lot of opportunities, but we were not able to capitalise on them, especially in the second set. We could have closed this game in a different way. We were fighting incredibly for each ball. It was a great battle, but we should have used those important moments. Maybe some cold blood might have helped us to finish those head-to-head situations inside of the sets. It's clear that the game today showed that there are two completely different teams, each one is able to win without doubts. And for this reason I'm really upset that we were not able to take the 5th set. But I'm really happy that we fought like crazy for each ball. We almost did an incredible turn of the fifth set."
Gheorghe Cretu, Kuzbass Kemerovo head coach
"It's a surprising kind of volleyball for us. Nobody plays like that in the Russian League. Lots of defense, lots of saves and very small number of power attacks. It's bitter to lose all the endings, because all the sets that we lost were lost at the end. We know that this result leaves us a good chance to get to the next stage. We gotta get up for it."
Igor Kobzar, Kuzbass Kemerovo setter
"We played against a really, really strong team, who produced great volleyball for the most part of the game. It was something that we were prepared for, because one of the things that Kuzbass is doing well is serving, so we expected very aggressive serving from the start and we knew that we need a lot of patience if they started doing well. We had to stay in the game and continue to play without looking at the score, but just to keep carrying on. So we were really good, especially in the 2nd, 4th, and 5th set because we kept them under pressure in reception and we played smart. So the only thing that we had to think about is the fifth set, when we were 9-2 up and then just came risking to lose this game as they [Kuzbass] started again to take risks. But in the end it's important that we won, but we must forget this victory and only think about the game that we'll play in a week from now."
Nikola Grbic, Zaksa Kedzierzyn-Kozle head coach
"It was a nice game for the fans. We knew that it would be really difficult to win here, and the atmosphere here is amazing! Maybe we didn't expect so much to win in the beginning of the game, because at first we were taken by surprise, but then we started to play better. In the fifth set, we were ahead by 6-7 points and in the end we almost lost the game. We are happy to return to Poland with the victory."
Benjamin Toniutti, Zaksa Kedzierzyn-Kozle setter
Fakel NOVY URENGOY (RUS) vs Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA (ITA) 1-3 (23-25, 21-25, 25-22, 21-25)
"I'm only half satisfied. If we had added a little bit of attention and focus, we could have extended this game. But we are glad that we made Perugia play at their maximum. This team is assembled to win everything. We are also happy that we played at the same level and only in certain moments did not have enough experience, which Perugia has in abundance."
Camillo Placi, Fakel Novy Urengoy head coach
"The game today was good, although the beginning was not so much. Our third set turned out to be excellent. We played very cleanly. This is the kind of volleyball that Fakel should play. We minimised errors, played very well on the block and in defense and these are exactly the elements that we are famous for. Unfortunately, it was not possible to take the game to a fifth set. Now we will try to practice before the second game and show our maximum in Italy."
Igor Kolodinskiy, Fakel Novy Urnegoy captain
"A trip to Novy Urengoy is the farthest trip of the season. This was unusual for us with four hours of time difference. It was hard to adapt and the game was not easy. But fortunately we managed to play as planned.
Everyone gave 100%. Fakel are a very good team, and you can't play with them in a relaxed way, because they can immediately punish you."
Oleh Plotnytskyi, Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia outside hitter
"It was a great match. I believe that Egor Kliuka was not enough for Fakel. Next Tuesday we will have the second leg in Perugia and we hope to see it there."
Marko Podrascanin, Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia middle blocker and MVP of the game
Knack ROESELARE (BEL) vs Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA (ITA) 0-3 (29-31, 14-25, 16-25)
"I think we didn't start really well. We missed some rhythm because we hadn't played for a week and a half. Knack Roeselare started with a lot of enthusiasm and they brought good volleyball. In the second and third sets we did a good job with our serve. For me, it was great to come on court again. I played for seven years here and we had a lot of success together. I have a lot of nice memories from my time here. Next week we will start with the right focus because we want to have that ticket for the semifinals."
Stijn D'Hulst, Lube reserve setter
"We played really well in the first set. Especially at the end of the first set we did a great job in block and defence. But they put a lot of pressure in service on us during the whole game. Sometimes we missed when we had the chance to score but they acted so well in defence. For us, playing against teams like Lube improves our level. They always find the correct solutions in block and defence. For next week, we still have the ambition to bring our best volleyball."
Andreas-Dimitrios Fragkos, Knack Roeselare outside hitter
Click here for further information on CEV Champions League Volley 2020.
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