Chaumont, France, March 29, 2017. On Wednesday night, CHAUMONT VB 52 continued their triumphal march in the 2017 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup – Men as they rallied to a 3-1 home victory (25-21, 25-19, 28-30, 25-18) in the first round of the semi-finals with Ziraat Bankasi ANKARA. The remake will take place on Sunday, April 2 and determine who will challenge Russia’s Fakel NOVY URENGOY or Galatasaray HDI ISTANBUL in the final stage of the competition.

The result is truly exceptional for CHAUMONT VB 52 especially since the current leaders of the French national league are making this season their first ever appearance in the European Cups. The hosts delighted some 1,000 fans and delivered an overall very solid performance to outplay a star-studded opponent whose roster includes some ‘big names’ such as David Lee, Marcus Nilsson, Kay van Dijk and Jeroen Rauwerdink.

CHAUMONT VB 52 need to win two sets on Sunday in the Turkish capital in order to progress to the final stage of the competition.

Top scorer Stephen Boyer (20 points) commented: “Frankly speaking, I did expect the match would be a lot closer and we would be pushed more. However, we made the difference in service reception, and I think that our great performance in defence did somehow demoralise our opponents. It became more and more difficult for them to come back. As far as the ambiance is concerned, it was truly terrific! We will now see how far we can get. We still have to play the return match in Turkey and after that, we will have the playoffs of our national league. We want to make it as far as possible. There are six players on the court and another seven at the sidelines. This success is the result of a truly collective effort.” 

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