Luxembourg, March 2, 2021. Saugella MONZA after defeating Tent OBRENOVAC in straight sets became the first finalists in the women’s CEV Volleyball Cup 2021. The Italian club made important step towards the final already last week winning their first match-up also in three sets. On Tuesday, MONZA needed to win only two sets to complete their mission in the decisive game played at Sportsko Kulturni Centar - SKC in Obrenovac, Serbia and they quickly did it, not leaving anything to chance. MONZA, despite turbulent first set when they had to save a set point for the hosts, stayed focused dominating in block and in attack to grab a spot in the final.
Tent OBRENOVAC (SRB) vs Saugella MONZA (ITA) 0-3 (24-26, 20-25, 23-25)
After earning a straight-set win in their first semifinal encounter last week, Monza were favourites of this clash. However, the first set was full of ups and downs. Monza broke away with a 9-5 lead, but the hosts recovered improving their game to tie at 11-11. A few rallies later, fans had an impression of déjà vu, the visiting team reached a solid three-point advantage at 17-14, but Obrenovac again caught up the score. From 21-21 both sides delivered fierce point-by-point battle. Obrenovac didn't use their chance to win a set, what Monza did in extra time.
Monza needed one more set to book a spot in the final, so they opened the second part fully focused. The Italian club built a four-point advantage in early stage leading at 10-6. Learning the lesson from the previous part, they were not slowing down to keep the score safe. Obrenovac tried their best to prolong their chances, they managed to shorten the distance to two points at 15-17 and 19-21, but Monza didn't let them to get any closer. Impressive block from Alessia Orro and Laura Heyrman on Jovana Cvetkovic gave them desired ticket to the women's CEV Volleyball Cup 2021 final.
Despite securing a spot in the final there was still some business to finish on court. After short celebration it was not easy to get back in match rhythm quickly that resulted with 5-1 lead for Obrenovac. Nevertheless, Saugella Monza wanted to complete their job with victory, they tie at 9-9. Then, the game was continued on point-by-point basis. The first match point came after Heyrman's spike. An attack from Sonja Danilovic of Obrenovac went in out and this ended the match. Ana Mitrović of Brenovac topped the scorers' chart with 14 points, being followed by two players of Saugella Monza - Anna Danesi and Lise Van Hecke who tallied 10 apiece.
CEV Volleyball Cup 2021 finalist - team of Saugella MONZA (ITA)
The second semifinal between Galatasaray HDI ISTANBUL and BEZIERS Angels will be played on Wednesday at 18:00 (CET).