Paris, France, April 12, 2017. Russia’s Fakel NOVY URENGOY are two sets away from claiming the 2017 edition of the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup – Men following the 3-1 victory (25-12, 15-25, 26-24, 30-28) they celebrated on Wednesday night in their first matchup with French sensation CHAUMONT VB 52.

The Russians caught a flying start to the match but had to cope with a French comeback in the second set – as CHAUMONT VB 52 lived up to their status of real sensation in this year’s European Cups. The French team are indeed making their first appearance in an international competition and they made it straight to the finals after their epic victory over Ziraat Bankasi ANKARA in the semis.

Even though the third and fourth sets were an extremely close race, the players of Fakel NOVY URENGOY used their physical advantage and experience at this level to pull out a 3-1 victory, which bodes well for the return match they will be hosting on Sunday, April 16. Fakel will try to make amends for the loss they suffered last season when they had to be content with the silver medals – as gold went the way of Italy’s Calzedonia VERONA.

Stephen Boyer, star player of CHAUMONT VB 52: “We needed some time to find our rhythm and this applies especially to the first set. After that, things went a lot better, especially in the second set. The third and fourth sets were close and we played at the same level. We enjoyed the ambiance; that was just great! Many fans had come to Paris to support us. We were very close to making it to the tiebreak. Let us see what happens on Sunday in Russia.”

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