11/10/2020 21:48
DUPNITSA first team to reach #CEVChallengeCupM 8th Finals
CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup 2021
Ried im Innkreis, Austria, October 11, 2020. Marek Union Ivkoni DUPNITSA of Bulgaria are the first team to reach the 8th Finals of the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup 2021 after securing a second 3-0 victory (25-23, 25-21, 25-21) in as many matches they played this weekend with UVC Weberzeile RIED of Austria. In the next round, DUPNITSA will be playing the winners of the double header between VK Barkom-Kazhany LVIV of Ukraine and Romania’s Dinamo BUCURESTI.
With both matches played in Austria, RIED enjoyed the home-court advantage for the second day in a row. The hosts started very focussed and motivated, with the first set remaining a close affair up to 23-all. At this stage, the visitors showed nerves of steel and the right degree of cold-bloodedness as they finished the next couple of rallies in their favour. On Saturday, RIED had obviously failed to keep the pace of their opponents after losing the first set. However, this time around, the hosts were able to put up a fight almost until the very end, with their head coach Dominik Kefer using almost the full roster at his disposal. However, this was not enough and after a match lasting 80 minutes, the European journey of the Upper Austrians ended after suffering a second straight loss at the hands of DUPNITSA.
The Bulgarians had the upper hand in all stats, registering nine blocks and seven aces vs. seven and five for the home team. Moreover, they scored 40 times with their attacks vs. 36 points registered by RIED. Markus Berger (13) and George Hobern (11) top scored for RIED in their losing effort, as Svetoslav Ivanov (15) and Tsvetelin Tsvetanov (11) piled up the most points for DUPNITSA.
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