11/03/2020 20:20
Kuzbass stun Zaksa to make men's Champions League last four
CEV Champions League Volley 2020 - Men
Luxembourg, March 11, 2020. Russia's Kuzbass Kemerovo pulled off a stunning feat in Poland, beating Zaksa Kedzierzyn-Kozle 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-20) behind closed doors Wednesday evening to clinch a berth in the semifinals of the 2020 Men's European Champions League.
Having won the first quarterfinal leg in Russia in five sets, Zaksa needed any win on the night to advance to the semifinals - or at least two sets to have another chance in a potential 'golden set'. But the reigning Russian champions had other ideas in mind and saved the day for Russia who were in danger of having no representation in the last four of the Champions League for the first time since 2002.
Victor Poletaev, the match MVP, led Kuzbass in dominating on the net, as he scored a match high of 24 points.
Though Kuzbass conceded eight aces (to the four they served), it was their blocking (eight stuffs to three) and attacking (60/111 for 54% to a mere 46/113 for 41%) that decided the game.
After dropping the first set and seemingly on their way out, Kuzbass regrouped and built up an early lead in the second. Though Zaksa rallied with a 4-0 run from three points down at 15-18 to briefly go ahead by a point at 19-18, that was the Polish side's swan-song. Kuzbass did a four-point run of their own to go 22-19 ahead and never looked back.
Kuzbass never allowed Zaksa another chance in sets three and four, before reaching match point with five to spare. They only needed two, as on their first chance for a sideout, Dmytro Pashytskyy smashed the ball on the floor from the middle, sending his teammates into wild celebrations.
The match was played without spectators (or journalists) due to measures to combat the coronavirus, though big screens at the Azoty Hall (instead of the originally scheduled venue in Gliwice, for which as many as 6,000 tickets had been sold) showed Zaksa fans cheering on their side from an off-site location.
It was the only men's Champions League match of the week - all others postponed due to the coronavirus.
Kuzbass join defending champions Cucine Lube Civitanova of Italy in the last four. The Italian side advanced on the basis of their first-leg 3-0 win over Knack Roeselare, after the two sides agreed not to play the second leg in Italy due to coronavirus concerns.
They will next face either Italy's Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia or Russian rivals Fakel Novy Urengoy in the semifinals - though the return leg in Italy of Perugia's four-set win in Russia has been postponed due to the coronavrius pandemic as well.
Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE (POL) vs Kuzbass KEMEROVO (RUS) 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 18-25, 20-25)
"We are happy because it is for us a historic promotion to the best four in Europe. I trained in Poland and I know Zaksa's class, so both matches were in my opinion very even. Today we played hard in attack and our opponents made more mistakes that gave us a well-deserved win."
Gheorghe Cretu, Kuzbass Kemerovo head coach
"We were counting on promotion but the Russians showed that they are a top-notch team. We played a little weaker in defence. It is a pity that we lacked our additional player who are our fans."
Pawel Zatorski, Zaksa Kedzierzyn-Kozle libero
Click here for further information on CEV Champions League Volley 2020.
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