14/12/2011 20:51
PGE Skra comes back from two sets down to beat ACH Volley LJUBLJANA to delight 9'500 home fans
2012 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men
Lodz, Poland, December 14, 2011. PGE Skra BELCHATOW of Poland stormed back from two sets down tonight to beat ACH Volley LJUBLJANA (23-25, 28-30, 25-21, 25-18, 15-12) and delight some 9'500 colorful fans that were in attendance at “Sports Palace” in Lodz. The hosts showed great fighting spirit after their opponents played a perfect game for the first couple of sets. This is the third consecutive win in as many matches for BELCHATOW while ACH Volley had previously beaten Budvanska Rivijera BUDVA 3:2 and lost in straight sets to TOURS VB.
BELCHATOW joined the game as the real favorite although the team was missing Marcin Mozdzonek, best blocker from the World Cup recently completed in Japan, who was sick. ACH Volley, however, got quickly into the game and went up 23:18 in the opening set before Karol Klos scored three in a row for the home side to re-open the fate of that section. Michal Winiarski added another point to the count of the home side blocking Alen Sket but the Slovenian opposite stayed cool to finish it off for ACH Volley, with the Slovenians having committed only 2 unforced errors versus 8 for the hosts.
ACH Volley stretched that good tempo also to the second set, going up 16:11 there, with the great actions in defense of Canadian libero Daniel Lewis and the attacks of youngster Uros Kovacevic. However, local mentor Jacek Nawrocki called Bartosz Kurek from the bench and his serves, combined with the spikes of Winiarski, drew level at 22 all. Some 9’500 fans were on their feet as PGE Skra fended off two set balls but ACH Volley eventually scored the last points to make it 0:2.
BELCHATOW got back on track in set 3 and 4 by reducing the number of unforced errors and with the great counterattacks of Kurek and Winiarski. Helped also by Klos, BELCHATOW went for the tie-break where Wlazly aced for the 12:10 and the match came to a close with the final 15-12 for the home guys.
Karol Klos and Bartosz Kurek top scored for PGE Skra with 17 points, with 16 being contributed also by Wlazly and Winiarski. Alen Sket was the best scorer of the game with 26 but still rather disappointed: “I do not feel that good as I had to stop for 2 weeks because of an injury”.
“We took one point from this game which is not too bad but we are a little disappointed. PGE Skra played well from the start but we managed to take two sets. Unfortunately we did not close the match” says ACH Volley captain Andrej Flajs. “It was a nervous game, we played good for the first two sets but our concentration faded away after we realized that we had already claimed one point” adds head coach Igor Kolakovic.
“I knew that ACH Volley is a strong side and we did not have to underestimate our opponent. They played good Volleyball and we had to claw back to catch up with our opponents” concludes home mentor Jacek Nawrocki.
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