20/11/2016 22:50
Dukla cause third-round sensation as pre-favourites live up to expectations
2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League - Men
Luxembourg, November 20, 2016. On Sunday afternoon Belogorie BELGOROD, Noliko MAASEIK and Arkas IZMIR stamped 3-0 victories in the remake of their respective matchups with GENTOFTE Volley, Abiant Lycurgus GRONINGEN and Crvena Zvezda BEOGRAD to live up to the expectations and secure their progression to the much anticipated fourth round of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men. These teams were emulated by Sir Sicoma Colussi PERUGIA, PGE Skra BELCHATOW and VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN that also capitalised on their away victories from earlier this week to take also the remakes of their third-round fixtures. The real sensation of the day was nevertheless caused by Czech champions Dukla LIBEREC that came back from a 0-3 heavy loss in Finland to rout Tiikerit KOKKOLA by the same score at home and win the all-deciding golden set that followed. As for France’s Arago de SETE, though they reversed the outcome of the first leg, they ended up losing the golden set to ACH Volley LJUBLJANA – and Slovenia’s champions are therefore those progressing to the group stage of the competition.
Belogorie BELGOROD (RUS) vs. GENTOFTE Volley (DEN) 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-16)
Belogorie BELGOROD looked more than solid as they qualified for the next stage of Europe’s top club competition with another straight-sets victory over Danish rookies GENTOFTE Volley.
The Russian technical staff had the chance to experiment a little bit with their starting six. Nevertheless, the Danish champions could not take any set from the 2014 CL gold medal winners. The Russian ‘Lions’ easily controlled the flow of the match, and they were perfect in defence, and just as effective in attack.
Ukrainian-born Ian Iereshchenko was the best scorer of the home team with 15 points to crown with success his debut in the Champions League. Iereshchenko was supported by his teammate Yaroslav Podlesnykh who scored 10 points for the Russian team. The best scorer for the Danish side was captain Peter Trolle Bonnesen with seven points.
Belogorie’s assistant coach Alexander Kosarev was happy with the final result of both matches and with team’s concentration and spirit. At the same time GENTOFTE’s head coach Denis Janka was also not so much disappointed as his team “gained a valuable experience to play against such a good team as Belogorie.” Janka added that this experience will surely help them in future to play on the European stage. “We don’t want to wait for as many years as before when there were no Danish teams competing at the top European level,” he said.
Belogorie BELGOROD move on to Pool E to play against Turkey’s Halkbank ANKARA, Knack ROESELARE from Belgium and Sir Sicoma Colussi PERUGIA.
Sir Sicoma Colussi PERUGIA (ITA) vs. Volley AMRISWIL (SUI) 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-18)
Though the reigning Swiss national champions played with a lot of courage, they could not pose a real threat to Italy’s standout Sir Sicoma Colussi PERUGIA. The hosts claimed the second 3-0 victory in as many matches with Volley AMRISWIL to progress to the group stage of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men.
PERUGIA’s coach Lorenzo Bernardi opted for the expected starting six whereas the visitors from Switzerland made quite a major change – opposite Lorenz Eichhorn replaced Sébastien Steigmeier. The Italians were passionately supported by the home audience and they paid the fans back with a very solid performance right from the beginning of the first set. The Swiss tried to keep up with the pace imposed by PERUGIA but were not that successful in doing so. PERUGIA delighted the local audience with many spectacular actions in the second set – especially with their powerful serves and mighty blocks – and even the substitution of Luciano De Cecco with second setter Mihajlo Mitic did not have an impact on the quality and consistency of their performance. PERUGIA completed their home show with a compelling 25-18 win in the third set to secure their progression to Pool E.
Aleksandar Atanasijevic, player of Sir Sicoma Colussi PERUGIA, said: “I am very happy with the final result of this match, especially because we had some problems a few days ago when we played them in Switzerland. Today we play much better than we did on Wednesday and I am especially happy that we keep on improving and growing as a team.”
Dario Balsamo, assistant coach of Volley AMRISWIL, said: “Though we did not win, I can say that I am happy and satisfied with the way my team played today. It was really important for us to come here and play – this was a great opportunity to learn and gain experience. I did like the way we played and this is very important for us. Being Italian I can say that I am happy that an Italian team is moving to the next round and wish them much success for the remainder of the competition.”
Arkas IZMIR (TUR) vs. Crvena Zvezda BEOGRAD (SRB) 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-21)
On Sunday afternoon Arkas IZMIR provided some 2,000 fans in attendance at Atatürk Volleyball Hall with something to cheer about – the hosts delivered a very solid performance to claim another 3-0 victory over Crvena Zvezda BEOGRAD – the second in as many matches – and progress to the group stage of Europe’s elite club competition where they will take on, among others, titleholders Zenit KAZAN of Russia.
Michael Sanchez Bozhulev and Gökhan Gökgöz set the pace of the game for Arkas right from the start, claiming an early 8-2 lead in the first set; they continued to do the same later on as well (16-12) and the opening set eventually came to an end at 25-21 for the home side as Arkas IZMIR’s play was well orchestrated by Canadian setter Tyler James Sanders. Arkas team captain, the experienced Joao Paulo Pereira Bravo played as libero in this matchup, displaying his outstanding defence and reception skills.
Arkas IZMIR continued their show also in the second set (8-6) and even though the Serbian visitors tried to stop the hosts’ run with a time-out, the players coached by Glenn Hoag stayed in control at the second technical time-out as well (16-13). The Turks kept pushing through to the end and eventually took the second set by 25-22.
At this stage, with the qualification to the next round already in their hands, Hoag decided to rest some of his starting players and to play with the younger members of the team. Hasan Sikar, Yigit Gülmezoglu and Cagatay Durmaz showed their quality with some giant blocks and powerful attacks. Ahmet Karatas replaced Bravo as libero. Hoag is known for nurturing the talent of young, promising players – and Gülmezoglu made his debut in the CEV Volleyball Champions League at the tender age of 17 some years ago. After receiving the award for the best setter of the Turkish national league at the end of the 2014-2015 season when Arkas won the title, Gülmezoglu is now playing as outside spiker.
Crvena Zvezda profited of the many changes to the starting six of Arkas to claim an 8-4 lead in the third set; however, Arkas fought back and were 16-14 up before the hosts eventually won also the third set 25-21. Their Cuban-born opposite Michael Sanchez Bozhulev top scored with 18 points followed by Gökgöz and Mauricio Borges with 12 and 10, respectively. Hakki Capkinoglu recorded three blocks for the home side. Aleksandar Blagojević top scored for Crvena Zvezda with 14 markers.
Glenn Hoag, coach of Arkas IZMIR, commented: “We knew it was going to be difficult because Crvena Zvezda had nothing to lose. Their team played without making mistakes and fought all the time. They made it difficult for us in the first and second sets. We didn’t play great today but we played ok. We made some small mistakes but in the end we won. We knew that we had qualified for the next round after winning the first two sets. I wanted to give a chance to our young players. They played really good. It’s really important for our young players to gain experience in this elite competition.”
PGE Skra BELCHATOW (POL) vs. PAOK THESSALONIKI (GRE) 3-1 (25-14, 21-25, 25-15, 25-17)
PGE Skra BELCHATOW lived up to the expectations of the fans and sealed its 11th qualification to the group phase of the CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men by defeating PAOK THESSALONIKI 3-1. The first leg in Greece earlier this week was also claimed by the three-time medallists of the competition, but in straight sets.
The match was played in Wielun, 60 km from Belchatow, and it was undoubtedly the sports event to remember for the local fans. 2,000 tickets were sold out in just half an hour and the only disappointment for the public was the fact that Wielun-born hero Mariusz Wlazly, one of the biggest stars of Polish Volleyball, was unable to play due to late illness. The absence of Wlazly meant that Bartosz Kurek was destined to be the best scorer of the match. He started with seven points in the opening set, which was a clear message sent to the visitors from Greece.
“We wanted to present our value from the beginning, we wanted to give a show to the local fans and stay concentrated all the time. And we did it, despite giving away the second set. We are through,” said Bartosz Kurek, who scored 23 points in the end. The second set turned out to be the only one won by the reigning Greek champions in the third round of Europe’s elite club competition. The visitors took full advantage of 13 (!) errors made by the PGE Skra players and amassed as many as five blocks. Athanasios Terzis did his job well after substituting starting setter Vlado Petkovic.
“I told the players to regain focus and start playing our way from the very beginning of the third set and they did it. However, in the second set they did everything wrong, especially things which had made me happy in the opening one,” said PGE Skra BELCHATOW coach Philippe Blain, laughing. PGE Skra took an early 4-0 lead and their coach was happy with the rest of the home team’s performance. “In the fourth set I gave an opportunity to the youngsters of the team and they played really good.”
“We did our utmost to compete, but it was enough only to win one set. PGE Skra were just the better team, we are competing on different levels. In the CEV Champions League you need also a bit of luck. We were the unluckiest team during the Drawing of Lots,” said Ioannis Kalmazidis, the coach of PAOK THESSALONIKI.
A 2-1 lead in the match, after Srecko Lisinac’s attack that finished the third set, meant that PGE Skra had booked their place in Pool D, alongside Azimut MODENA, SCM “U” CRAIOVA and ACH Volley LJUBLJANA.
Artur Szalpuk scored 15 points and was chosen by Pawel Okrasa, the Mayor of Wielun, to be awarded as MVP of the match with a special gift. Sotirios Sotiriou scored 11 times for PAOK, while Terzis recorded four blocks.
VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN (GER) vs. Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK (AUT) 3-2 (25-17, 25-16, 23-25, 22-25, 15-7)
After 50 minutes of high-class Volleyball, VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN made sure they progressed to the group stage of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men by taking the first and second sets of their home match with Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK. After winning 3-1 in Austria earlier this week, the ‘Häfler’ only needed these two sets to make it among the top 20 teams in Europe.
Both teams started out strong from the early stages of the match as they defended and attacked at the same level. VfB coach Vital Heynen trusted the same guys he had opted for in the first match contested on Wednesday in Innsbruck and especially Daniel Malescha caused many troubles to the Austrian defence. Heynen decided to change Michal Finger for Daniel Malescha and Armin Mustedanovic for David Sossenheimer and this move produced very good results. VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN claimed a comfortable lead and were able to hold on to it until the end of the opening set (25-17).
VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN had made it one step closer to the achievement of their goal and 1,496 fans in attendance never stopped cheering their heroes on. In the second set the ‘Häfler’ took the lead with their very effective blocking game (11-6, 14-9, 16-10). Hypo Tirol’s resistance was broken, the Austrians never posed a real threat to the Germans who cashed their fourth set point (25-16) to secure their spot in the group stage of Europe’s elite club competition.
The hosts changed setter (Tomas Kocian for Simon Tischer) and one attacker (Armin Mustedanovic for Tomas Rousseaux) in set 3 as Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK stepped up their efforts. They improved especially in defence and attack and kept the score tight until they had the upper hand at 25-23. Thilo Späth-Westerholt and Jakob Günthör enjoyed the opportunity to perform in a Champions League match in the fourth set but INNSBRUCK stayed focussed. The Austrians took the lead after the first technical time-out and closed the set 25-22.
VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN came back strong after losing two sets in a row and showed much courage. The local fans cheered their team on with much enthusiasm and as a result, Sossenheimer and his team blocked better, jumped higher and the scoreboard showed a compelling 8-2 lead for the home team at the side switch. The Germans fought for every single ball and eventually closed this high-level game with Michal Finger’s ace at 15-7.
Vital Heynen, head coach of VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN: “I’m not happy with the result but I’m very glad that we made it to the group phase. Now we start immediately to prepare for the matches with Zenit KAZAN, Arkas IZMIR and PARIS Volley. I’m really looking forward to these games.”
Daniel Gavan, head coach of Hypo Tirol: “I’m very disappointed. We made the same mistakes as in Innsbruck and we couldn’t put as much pressure on VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN as we wanted to.”
Noliko MAASEIK (BEL) vs. Abiant Lycurgus GRONINGEN (NED) 3-0 (25-23, 31-29, 25-21)
On Sunday Noliko MAASEIK repeated their 3-0 away victory over Abiant Lycurgus GRONINGEN at home – and did so in style with another 3-0. An enthusiastic Lotto Dôme, filled with some 2,000 Belgian fans, was delighted to witness such a spectacular display by the home side.
Noliko MAASEIK had to change its line-up with captain Jelte Maan suffering an abdomen injury. Ivan Castellani took his place, but it was Martijn Colson who drew all the attention with three early kill blocks for 8-5. Only after trailing 20-16, American setter Matt West could launch Wytze Kooistra and Auke van de Kamp for a couple of impressive spikes for 22-21, but Mikelis Berzins was denied the equaliser at set point by a huge three-man block (25-23).
The Belgians didn’t want to give their Dutch neighbours any spark of hope: Nicolas Bruno immediately created a three-point bonus for the home side in the early stages of the second set. This time van de Kamp managed to level at 10-all, yet Branislav Skladany soon saw his attackers restore the Belgian leadership at 21-17. But with Lycurgus’s setter Matt West standing behind the service line, the visitors completely turned the tide at 23-24. In a thrilling finish the locals wiped out five Dutch set points, before eventual top scorer Kamil Rychlicki (15 points) capitalised on their second one, thus securing their spot in the fourth round of the competition.
Even with five young substitutes on court, Noliko MAASEIK cruised to a comfortable win in the third set (25-21) to seal their second 3-0 victory over GRONINGEN in as many matches.
The Dutch middle blocker of Noliko MAASEIK, Rob Bontje said: “It may have been another 3-0 win, but once again we got tough opposition from GRONINGEN. We can be really happy with our performance, because with Ivan Castellani replacing Jelte Maan, we had to play in this constellation for the very first time. We’ll see whether our level is high enough for the top teams we will be facing in our group, but I’m convinced we can cause a couple of surprises.”
Matt West, setter of Abiant Lycurgus GRONINGEN: “I’m proud of my team, since we were able to compete at a high level and not just giving in on these guys of Noliko MAASEIK. Now we have to practice more and play a couple of league games before we enter the CEV Cup, in which I hope we can win a couple of rounds.”
Arago de SETE (FRA) vs. ACH Volley LJUBLJANA (SLO) 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-23; golden set: 9-15)
Arago de SETE were able to storm back from their loss earlier this week in Slovenia and the Frenchmen delivered a real show before a partisan crowd in Montpellier – they indeed cruised to a 3-1 victory in the remake of their matchup with ACH Volley LJUBLJANA and as a result, a golden set was to be played to determine the eventual winners of this fixture.
In the end, Slovenia’s multiple champions emerged victorious as they took the all-deciding golden set 15-9 to secure their progression to the group stage of Europe’s elite club competition; as for Arago de SETE, they will continue their European campaign this season in the CEV Volleyball Cup.
Dukla LIBEREC (CZE) vs. Tiikerit KOKKOLA (FIN) 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-19; golden set: 15-11)
Czech national champions Dukla LIBEREC had a difficult task to cope with on Sunday – they had to cruise to a 3-0 or 3-1 victory in the re-match with Tiikerit KOKKOLA to stay alive in the competition and go for an eventual golden set since they had lost in three sets the previous matchup with the Finnish ‘Tigers’ earlier this week. They eventually were able to achieve this feat, thus securing their progression to the group stage of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men.
The start of the match was a close one before the Finns scored three points in a row to make it 12-9 in their favour and force a Czech time-out. It did help for a short while but Dukla still trailed 13-16 at the second technical time-out. LIBEREC finally edged ahead at 19-18 and the hosts were able to hold on to this narrow lead until they closed the first set out (25-23) on a block by Lubomir Stanek.
The second set was a completely different story with Dukla cruising to a compelling 16-9 lead at the second technical time-out. The Finns tried to change the course of the game replacing Steven Hunt with Lauri Jylhä but it did not help and Hunt soon returned to the court. Tiikerit closed in at 20-16 but after another Finnish time-out the Czechs emerged victorious at 25-22.
Dukla LIBEREC claimed an early lead in the third set (3-1, 5-4) before the score was tight until 10-10. After that, the Czechs built a narrow margin (14-11) and they were able to hold on to it until the end of the set with Jan Galabov making it 25-19 with an ace to call for the golden set.
In the deciding set, after a close opening phase, Dukla LIBEREC edged ahead (7-4) also by profiting of some mistakes made by their opponents. The hosts never looked back (10-5, 12-8) and even though Hunt closed in at 13-10, two consecutive points completed Dukla’s comeback and secured their progression to the group stage of the CEV Volleyball Champions League (15-11).
Michal Nekola, head coach of Dukla LIBEREC: “Today we were better than our opponent for almost the entire game. Everything went really well and the way we had planned.”
Ales Spravka, team captain of Dukla LIBEREC: “It is a nice fairy tale and I hope it will continue.”
Jukka Mäkihannu, head coach of Tiikerit KOKKOLA: “As I said many times, this is sport. Dukla LIBEREC played better than we did and stayed more concentrated.”
Antti Leppälä, team captain of Tiikerit KOKKOLA: “We are really disappointed, because we believed in our victory.”
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