14/04/2015 22:44
Vojvodina pleased with great ambiance around Challenge Cup final in Lisbon
2015 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup - Men
Lisbon, Portugal, April 14, 2015. On Sunday Serbia’s Vojvodina NS Seme NOVI SAD achieved a historic feat for their Volleyball family as they became their country’s first team to seize a European Cup trophy. They did so after claiming the first two sets of their re-match with Portugal’s Benfica LISBOA in a ‘grand finale’ whose organisation was praised by CEV Representative and Board member Margaret Ann Fleming as well as by CEV Supervisor and European Cups Commission member Natalia Kostulska. 1,700 fans filled up the stands to cheer on the home heroes and they stayed until the very end even though the chances of Benfica to claim the second European trophy in history for Portugal were gone after two sets.
The home fans got something to celebrate as their middle blocker, Flavio Soares, also known as Zelão, received the award for the Most Valuable Player of the competition, after scoring as many as 95 points (54 attacks, 28 blocks and 13 aces) since the start of Benfica’s campaign in the 2015 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup – Men.
In the end the players and coaching staff of Vojvodina could celebrate a historic achievement for Serbian Volleyball. “We are very happy,” commented team captain Veljko Petkovic. The 38-year old setter was the only veteran in a team comprising mostly young, yet talented players. “Our goal was to go as far as we could in this competition. We are very happy to win and even more surrounded by this ambiance and with such a great host, as Benfica are a very good team,” he added.
“We had come here to fight. We had some problems with injuries during the game but we fought hard,” said assistant coach Nedzad Osmankac. “It’s a great success for us to win our first European trophy. I would like to thank once more Benfica for their hospitality, they are an excellent host and club. Hopefully we will be playing together in the next edition of the CEV Volleyball Champions League.”
|