09/03/2016 22:57
Yellow Angels two sets away from Final Four
2016 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Women
Istanbul, Turkey, March 9, 2016. On Wednesday night the Yellow Angels of Fenerbahce Grundig ISTANBUL extended their winning streak in the 2016 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women to nine consecutive matches after claiming the first round of the double matchup with Russia’s Dinamo MOSCOW on schedule for the Playoffs 6 of Europe’s elite competition (3-1; 25-21, 25-14, 21-25, 25-19).
Fenerbahce claimed an early 8-4 lead in the opening set by means of the aces scored by their Korean superstar Kim Yeon-Koung (pictured). After the first technical time-out, Lucia Bosetti forced a block-out by Dinamo MOSCOW and the Russian coach Yury Panchenko stopped the actions once more when his team trailed 9-4. The course of the game did not change much and with Eda Erdem Dündar standing behind the service line, Fenerbahce Grundig widened their lead to 13-5. However, as they solved their problems in reception, Dinamo MOSCOW closed in at 13-9 and this prompted another time-out, this time by the Italian coach of Fenerbahce, Marcello Abbondanza. Fenerbahce stopped the positive run of Dinamo and called for the second technical time-out leading the way 16-10. After the break, Dinamo closed their gap again and had almost erased their deficit at 21-19 with the help of their star player Nataliia Obmochaeva. After another Turkish time-out, Christa Dietzen helped Fenerbahce get back on track and the Yellow Angels eventually secured their first set win at 25-21.
Kim Yeon-Koung set the tone for Fenerbahce’s supremacy also in the second set as her outstanding performance propelled a 5-1 run by the hosts. Brankica Mihajlovic did a good job as well from the service line and Fenerbahce extended their lead to 8-2 at the first technical time-out. Cheered on by their fans, the Yellow Angels continued to perform on a class of their own (11-3) before Dinamo attempted a comeback which resulted in a time-out asked by Abbondanza at 15-8. Mihajlovic scored the next point to call for the second technical break but the Italian-born mentor of Fenerbahce stopped the actions once more when Dinamo closed in at 17-12. Once the game resumed, Mihajlovic scored some terrific aces and nothing could prevent Fenerbahce anymore from securing a landslide 25-14 set win.
The third set was a lot more competitive than the previous ones. Fenerbahce Grundig seemed to struggle a bit, especially at blocking, but still could set the pace of the game at the first technical time-out (8-7). Dinamo MOSCOW, on the other hand, stepped up their efforts with Fernanda Garay and Obmochaeva on fire and Fenerbahce ended up trailing for the first time at 12-13. After a break asked by Abbondanza, Fenerbahce tried to come back before Dinamo edged ahead by two points at the second technical time-out. It was the most entertaining section of the match for the audience with long rallies but most of the points were claimed by Dinamo. Abbondanza asked for another time-out at 19-16 for the Muscovites but an effective service series by Ekaterina Lyubushkina extended the Russian lead to 21-16. Fenerbahce could not close the gap anymore and Dinamo deservedly won the third set 25-21.
The fourth set did not start in the best way for Dinamo as the Russians could not find a way to stop Mihajlovic and Fenerbahce claimed an early 8-6 lead. However, the Muscovites responded well after the break and some great actions helped the visitors close in at 13-12. Fenerbahce did not waste any time to claw back (16-12) but Dinamo stepped up their efforts to make it 18-16 after the second technical time-out. Mihajlovic shone bright in the remainder of the set and she played a leading role in her side’s set win (25-19) to secure the first round of this much anticipated Playoffs 6 clash.
Fenerbahce star Eda Erdem Dündar said: “It was a very exciting match. We are happy with the victory but even though we got a small advantage ahead of the next round, our job is not finished yet. We have to remain focussed on the second match and at the same time we want to continue to perform well in our national league too.”
Dinamo spiker Yana Shcherban said: “We did not start the match in the best way and after taking the third set we relaxed a way too much. We did not remain focussed and even though we had a chance to come back in the fourth set, we could not use it.”
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