09/02/2016 23:52
Fenerbahce too much to stand even for Polish champions
2016 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Women
Szczecin, Poland, February 9, 2016. Turkey’s standout Fenerbahce Grundig ISTANBUL opened the programme of the Playoffs 12 in the 2016 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women with a dominant victory in their away matchup with Poland’s champions Chemik POLICE (25-20, 25-18, 25-23).
After sweeping six straight matches in Pool E, Fenerbahce proved too much to stand also for Chemik POLICE. The Yellow Angels from Istanbul showed their class by combining powerful spikes and serves and were anchored by their superstars Brankica Mihajlovic and Kim Yeon-Koung. These two players made the difference in the deciding moments of the match and they regularly stopped their opponents with some well-placed blocks.
“Fenerbahce is one of the best teams in Europe. They have set the goal to claim the gold medal in the Final Four, so we have to acknowledge their potential. We had some troubles with the health of our players and we haven’t been able to practice in a proper way. I hope that we will be in a better shape for the re-match in two weeks,” said the head coach of Chemik POLICE, Giuseppe Cuccarini.
Chemik’s tactical plan was to serve strong and create as many difficulties as possible to the receivers of Fenerbahce. The Turkish players, however, seemed to be well ready to cope with these tactics. None of Fenerbahce’s receivers had problems with passing and therefore the visitors attacked with a very high rate of efficiency.
“We did our best, but they were simply too strong today. My biggest regret is this heavy loss by 3-0. We couldn’t win a single set, which complicates things before the re-match. Of course we still believe in our chances, but now we have much more work to do,” said home star Agnieszka Bednarek-Kasza.
Kim and Mihajlovic were simply unstoppable, even when the ball was set far away from the net. “Kim sometimes made the difference. She could deliver a few extra points, which were crucial by that stage of the sets,” Cuccarini concluded.
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