Istanbul, Turkey, March 15, 2017. On Wednesday afternoon, Turkey’s ISTANBUL BBSK claimed the first round of their tie with Germany’s BERLIN Recycling Volleys on schedule for the Playoffs 12 of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men. ISTANBUL BBSK emerged victorious at the tiebreak (25-20, 30-32, 25-22, 20-25, 15-13) after 133 minutes of play.
The hosts were off to a solid start to the match as they claimed an 8-5 lead with the spikes killed by Marko Matic and good passes from Caner Peksen. After the first technical time-out, ISTANBUL BBSK extended their lead to 10-5 and even though the BR Volleys tried to fight back, the hosts comfortably sailed towards a 25-20 set win.
The visitors responded by leading the way in the second set (8-7, 16-15) before ISTANBUL BBSK changed gear and put up a fight with the help of Matic and Antonin Rouzier. It was a very close affair with the BR Volleys eventually coming out on top at 32-30.
ISTANBUL BBSK set the pace of the game from start to end in the third set (8-6, 16-14, 25-22) but the BR Volleys responded in emphatic style in the following one, which they won by 25-20. ISTANBUL BBSK looked extremely concentrated in the tiebreak, where the Turkish team made less mistakes than their German opponents did to rally to a 15-13 win and celebrate a 3-2 home victory.
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