08/03/2016 23:27
Galatasaray cruise to commanding away victory in first round of CEV Cup semis
2016 CEV Volleyball Cup - Women
Schwerin, Germany, March 8, 2016. The first round of the 2016 CEV Volleyball Cup – Women semis starring Germany’s SCHWERINER SC and Galatasaray ISTANBUL of Turkey turned into a pretty easy run for the visitors from Istanbul who on Tuesday night cruised to a commanding straight-sets victory (25-10, 25-23, 25-19), waiting now for the re-match to follow this coming Saturday at Burhan Felek Volleyball Hall.
Galatasaray ISTANBUL lived up to their status of pre-favourites and performed at a very high level in the first set where nothing seemed to go in the right way for hosts SCHWERINER SC. Galatasaray claimed a five-point lead already at the first technical time-out as it looked like SCHWERINER SC had not much to oppose against the strong and well-placed serves delivered by Galatasaray team captain Nadia Centoni and her teammates. The Turks built a terrific 16-5 lead at the second technical time-out and the opening set came to a close at 25-10 after a long and exciting rally was finished by Cursty Jackson for the visiting team.
The early stages of the second set followed the same plot. Galatasaray put a lot of pressure from the service line whilst the hosts didn’t find a solution to stand the strong performance of their opponent. By the score of 11-5, Felix Koslowski, head coach of SCHWERINER SC, asked for his first time-out. This short break brought SCHWERINER SC back on track and just after the second technical time-out the Germans closed in from 16-11 to 16-15 after scoring four straight points. At the end of the set the match was finally balanced for the first time but again it was a very well placed attack of Galatasaray that finished it all off (25-23), much to the disappointment of 2,010 spectators in attendance.
Knowing that there was a slight chance of winning at least one or two sets and to have a better position for the away match in Turkey, the third set started at eye level (9-9) but as it progressed, Galatasaray played very concentrated to impose their supremacy yet again (19-14). After 75 minutes it was Galatasaray and their 30 enthusiastic fans who could celebrate a dominant 3-0 win in this first round of the CEV Cup semis.
“We knew that it was going to be a very tough match. Galatasaray is a very strong and experienced team as they play on the highest level every week in their national championship. We have just a few very strong teams in Germany, so their win today is absolutely well deserved,” said SCHWERINER SC head coach Felix Koslowski.
Ataman Güneyligil of Galatasaray ISTANBUL enjoyed the match as “the atmosphere was great and that also pushed my team to that level of performance.”
In just four days the two teams will meet again for the re-match in Istanbul. After their 3-0 away win in Germany, Galatasaray will have the right edge to make it to the next round but SCHWERINER SC are not yet ready to admit defeat.
Click here for more info including detailed stats of the match
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