Luxembourg, December 17, 2019. Allianz MTV STUTTGART, Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA, VakifBank ISTANBUL and newly-crowned world champions A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO all scored thrilling away wins over Khimik YUZHNY, ŁKS Commercecon ŁÓDŹ, Lokomotiv KALININGRAD Region and NANTES VB respectively, as match day 3 of the women's Champions League opened Tuesday night across the continent, while in the #MatchOfTheWeek RC CANNES emerged as the only team of the day to capitalise on home advantage as they shut out Dinamo MOSCOW in straight sets.
Allianz MTV STUTTGART travel back from Yuzhny with a full three points from their 3-1 (25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 28-26) sweep of Khimik, powered by top scorer of the game USA's Krystal Rivers on 29 points - but only just, having to come back in the fourth to cancel four set points of the home team and avoid a tiebreak.
But just a short while later in Lodz, defending champions Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA handed the Polish side their first defeat of the season 3-2 (22-25, 25-15, 25-9, 19-25, 15-10) to force a three-way tie at the top of the Pool C standings. LKS Commercecon, Allianz MTV STUTTGART and NOVARA are all on 2-1 records - though the German team has the upper hand on points.
Jovana Brakocevic Canzian led NOVARA with her 17 points to counter the 15 by Katarina Lazovic for LODZ in the Serbian scoring showdown, as the Italian side dominated the net in the tiebreak with four blocks to none. Bulgaria's Elitsa Vasileva added another 16 for the winners.
Over in Kaliningrad, meanwhile, the local Lokomotiv were poised to stun four-time European champions VakifBank after opening up a two-set lead, but the Turkish side did manage to regroup and turn it all around on the back of an astonishing 35 points by Sweden's Isabelle Haak (including five blocks and three aces) for a final 3-2 (32-34, 21-25, 25-19, 26-24, 15-10).
Back from winning the Club World Championship in China, Imoco thundered past NANTES VB in France with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-22) sweep inspired by Chiaka Ogbogu who scored a match high of 14 points, as five players of the Italian side scored in double digits.
RC CANNES wrapped up Tuesday's play with an astonishing 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-22), surviving the truly challenging second set which took them as many as seven set points to bring home. The Ukraine's Nadiia Kodola led the scoring for RC CANNES, who overwhelmed Dinamo with their blocking (six stuffs from Mira Todorova of Bulgaria and five from Myriam Kloster).
The results leave CONEGLIANO and CANNES as the only undefeated teams in the competition after three matches - though Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL could well join them if they beat Budowlani ŁÓDŹ on Wednesday.
Match by Match:
Khimik YUZHNY (UKR) vs Allianz MTV STUTTGART (GER) 1-3 (22-25, 16-25, 25-21, 26-28)
"We showed a good start, but then we made many mistakes. That's why our opponents came back in the race. When the score was 20-24 in the fourth set, we fought for every point and we won the game."
Krystal RIVERS, Allianz MTV STUTTGART captain
"We expected a hard game. We could have won in straight sets, but we made many mistakes. We have the reputation of the team which never gives up. This is what I said to my team during the last time-out and they went on to win the game."
Ioannis ATHANASOPOULOS, Allianz MTV STUTTGART head coach
"First of all I would like to say thank you to our fans for their support. This game is a big experience for us and we hope it will help us achieve the first victory in the group stage."
Daria STEPANOVSKA, Khimik YUZHNY captain
"We prepared for the game very seriously, but our work brought success in third and fourth sets. We made changes in our game after two sets and it helped win the third. We had chances to continue our fight in the tie-break but our opponent played better than us in the final section of the fourth set."
Dmitry MARYUKHNICH, Khimik YUZHNY assistant coach
Lokomotiv KALININGRAD Region (RUS) vs VakifBank ISTANBUL (TUR) 2-3 (34-32, 25-21, 19-25, 24-26, 10-15)
"We are lucky to win here, since Lokomotiv are a great team and they played very well. But VakifBank always aims to win and we never give up. Our pool is very strong and Lokomotiv is a very strong team - just we are stronger."
Giovanni GUIDETTI, VakifBank ISTANBUL head coach
"I am the only player in VakifBank to have played before here in Kaliningrad. That time the atmosphere here was great and the spectators were very good. We won today because Lokomotiv lost concentration after winning the first two sets. They just thought it is the end and it happens in volleyball when the team loses their power after some time. It is a pity we could not win the first two sets, but only the third set became critical."
Maja OGNJENOVIC, VakifBank ISTANBUL captain
"It is a shame that we lost the match - even more in front of our fans. But VakifBank is a very strong competitor with a great experience of matches and victories in the Champions League. In some critical moments we lacked energy and precision."
Ekaterina Orlova, Lokomotiv KALININGRAD Region captain
"We played against a very serious opponent who has won the Champions League many times. We showed with our game that we can play as equals. Unfortunately, we made many mistakes in simple situations and our opponents punished us. Yes, there was too much pressure. But it is not surprising considering we play in Champions League for the first time and our team, players wanted to show themselves in the best way. Emotions helped us to look honourable against such a serious opponent as VakifBank."
Andrei VORONKOV, Lokomotiv KALININGRAD Region head coach
ŁKS Commercecon ŁÓDŹ (POL) vs Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA (ITA) 2-3 (25-22, 15-21, 9-25, 25-19, 10-15)
"We are not lucky in the tiebreaks - and we have played quite a lot lately. Because of this, we ran out of points. It is now behind us. We have a little break now, it will be time to regenerate and organise everything in our minds."
Aleksandra WÓJCIK, ŁKS Commercecon ŁÓDŹ outside hitter
NANTES VB (FRA) vs A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO (ITA) 0-3 (22-25, 18-25, 22-25)
RC CANNES (FRA) vs Dinamo MOSCOW (RUS) 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-22)
"I am very happy for our team's performance: It's a collective victory. We owe our success to our mental strength, to our defence and to our presence at the block. Nadiia Kodola was distinguished as the MVP, but the whole team deserves a part of this reward, particularly our two middle-blockers, Mira Todorova (6 blocks) and our captain Myriam Kloster (5) for a total of 17. Three victories is a perfect start for us, even if we know that the return games clearly won't be a piece of cake in this very tight and homogenous pool. But, tonight, let's enjoy this very pleasant success."
Riccardo MARCHESI, RC CANNES head coach
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