28/03/2015 19:15
‘Berliner’ put on a show, but Russian armada powers to four-set win before record-breaking crowd
2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Men
Berlin, Germany, March 28, 2015. As the organisers set an all-time record for Volleyball competitions at the Max-Schmeling-Halle with 9,300 fans in attendance, the BERLIN Recycling Volleys put on a real fight in their match with Russia’s giant Zenit KAZAN and at a certain stage they seemed able to pose a real threat to their star-studded opponent. However, after going through many highs and lows, the Tatars imposed their rule and could celebrate a 3:1 victory (26-24, 21-25, 25-22, 25-15) to get the right to vie for their third title in the CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League on Sunday. The men of the match were definitely Maxim Mikhailov and especially Wilfredo Leon (top scorer in the end with 26 points) who showed his class throughout the game to keep KAZAN on route to a third crown in Europe’s elite competition following their wins in 2008 and 2012.
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The start of the match that the local fans had been waiting for since late January – when it was announced that the Final Four would be taking place on German soil for the very first time in history – was preceded by an emotional opening ceremony which included show acts and light effects. This way the BERLIN Recycling Volleys definitely lived up to their reputation as Germany’s Volleyball standout, somebody who can deliver a great show both on and off the court at the country’s ‘Volleyball Temple’. Images of Berlin’s landmarks were projected as an acrobat entertained the audience and the ABBA’s song ‘I have a dream’ was played to recap the terrific development of the local team throughout the last decade and welcome Europe’s Volleyball family to one of the most vibrant and dynamic cities of the Old Continent. A singer from a popular casting show then performed live Whitney Houston’s hit ‘One Moment in Time’ and four boys carrying the flags of the four participating teams entered the court as the ambiance reached its climax.
And finally the D-Day had come both for the BERLIN Recycling Volleys and Zenit KAZAN who were just about to extend their rivalry from the 2013 and 2014 editions where the Russians had recorded four wins in the Playoffs. As the organisers set on this D-Day an all-time record of attendance at the Max-Schmeling-Halle, it was time to see whether the home guys were going to pose a real threat to the red-hot favourites of the competition.
A minute of silence was first held to pay tribute to the 150 victims of the airplane crash that had shocked Germany and the whole Europe thereby showing the sympathy and closeness of the Volleyball family to the relatives and friends of those who perished last Tuesday in the French Alps.
Cuban-born wunderkind Wilfredo Leon immediately set the tone for Zenit cashing the first rally of the match but the hosts responded promptly to show that they were not afraid of the mighty opponent standing on the other side of the net. Zenit claimed an early lead (6:4) and then extended it on an ace by their superstar Maxim Mikhailov (7:4) before that same player added another point to his personal account to call for the first technical time-out (8:5). The hosts closed their gap bringing the audience on their feet at 10 all and they even had a chance to edge ahead if it wasn’t for Mikhailov who brought to an end the closely contested rally that followed. The Russian opposite kept on scoring (13:11) and the armada from Tatarstan had a fairly comfortable three-point lead at the second technical break (16:13). The home heroes got to feel the support of their fans during the time-out and the reaction was there, with their deficit closed down to only one point after the actions resumed. The BERLIN Recycling Volleys played smart to restore the balance at 18 all and later on they scored another two points in a row to make it 23:23. The ‘hottest’ point of this set went to the hosts as Mikhailov smashed the ball well off the bounds but Leon responded to fend off a first opportunity for the ‘Berliners’ to seize the set. A massive block by Andrey Ashchev then got a first set ball for the visitors and to the disappointment of the home fans the first set ended at 26-24 Zenit’s way on a fault by the local team.
The hosts were off to a good start in the second set leading by 2:0 before an ace by Leon brought back equality on the scoreboard at 4:4. Slowly but surely the Russians imposed their pace again as they had done also in the early stages of the opening set edging ahead by 6:4 and prompting a time-out by the Australian mentor of the BR Volleys, Mark Lebedew. The hosts knew they had to play their very best to stand a chance against the Russian armada and they confirmed their intention to put on a fight by levelling the score at 8 all. This close run continued up to 13:13 and at that stage it was clear to everyone in attendance that Zenit was not as dominant as many had expected it to be. The collective strength and team spirit of the hosts were key factors in their solid performance but to a certain extent they were also helped by their opponents, with two consecutive errors by Matthew Anderson contributing a 21:19 lead for BERLIN. The home heroes could hold on to that margin, Rob Bontje stamped a terrific block on Anderson for the 24:20 and the party got started after Paul Carroll cashed BERLIN’s second chance for the 1:1 (25-21).
After Zenit’s success rate in attack had dramatically dropped down from 53% to 35%, the Tatars got back on track in the early stages of the fourth set cruising to a 6:2 run but their supremacy did not last that long with the BERLIN Recycling Volleys closing on to a one-point deficit before Zenit lost one of their challenges in this set to propel a 10 all on the scoreboard. After the hosts had edged ahead, coach Alekno decided to replace Iranian setter Mir Saeid Marouflakrani with Igor Kobzar and the two-time winners of the Champions League flipped the charts around on two straight aces by Leon (14:12). However, anytime Zenit got to the front, BERLIN responded with a variety of solutions well chosen by their American setter Kawika Shoji. As the deciding stage of the set approached, Zenit KAZAN raised the bar even higher, a few more closely contested rallies followed before the Russian champions were presented with their 2:1 lead as Christian Dünnes served into the net (25-22).
The Russian giants stretched their rule also to the opening of the fourth set (8:4) as they seemed to have found the right consistency in all fundamentals. Still it was a way too early to call it a ‘match over’ as the BERLIN Recycling Volleys showed their determination to almost level the score (10:9) before Wilfredo Leon started his personal show for the Tatars (15:9). At this stage only a miracle could have changed the course of the game but, on the other hand, the players of Zenit had to keep their focus on a match that they still hadn’t won. They were able to do so quite well and their mission was eventually accomplished after a triple block stamped the final 25-15 to seal their 3:1 victory.
Post-match statements
Scott Touzinsky, captain of the BERLIN Recycling Volleys: “I am very proud of my team, we played three good sets and were able to keep the pace of our opponent which has been the strongest team in Europe for the last few years. The atmosphere was just phenomenal, and you can’t find something like that anywhere else. It is a pleasure to play before our crowd and for our fans. It has been a long journey which started five years ago when we still played in a small arena with 400 fans in attendance and now we have made it to this level. That is just amazing.”
Robert Kromm, outside spiker of the BERLIN Recycling Volleys: “There’s not much that went wrong, and we have shown a great fighting spirit. Leon served very well, and even though we trained a lot the last few weeks with the ball machine, he seems to be of a different class. We won the second set and we always fought though we were lagging behind quite often and this makes me very proud of my team. Tomorrow we definitely want to win a medal. This tournament is the highlight of a Volleyball career, so when you get to play a tournament like this you have to enjoy the experience and soak it up until the very last moment.”
Mark Lebedew, coach of the home team: “Congratulations to Zenit KAZAN, I wish them the best of luck for their match tomorrow. They deserve to be there. We played as a good team and we were close to such great opponent for three sets, but we still can’t compete at their same level or win this kind of matches. I am nevertheless proud of my players and now we have another mission to accomplish tomorrow where we will definitely play for a medal.”
Nikolay Apalikov, team captain of Zenit KAZAN: “It has been a close match, especially for the first three sets, as you all have seen. After that, it went well and we are of course happy with this victory and with making the final.”
Matthew Anderson, outside spiker of Zenit KAZAN, said: “They played very well against us but unfortunately for me I didn’t play as well as I wanted to. In the second set our reception wasn‘t as good as it was so far and it put us in a difficult situation.”
Vladimir Alekno, mentor of the Russian team: “There is a difference when you must win or you are free from any pressure. In our case, this match was a must-win bout because this is the only result that people expected from us. At the end of the day, when you play such matches, the only thing that really matters in the end is if you win or lose, not really if you played well or bad. We have accomplished our mission and we now have set our sight on the final.”
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