19/11/2016 23:16
Eczacibasi, Dinamo KRASNODAR, Liu Jo Nordmeccanica and Tauron MKS progress to CL group stage
2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League - Women
Luxembourg, November 19, 2016. On Saturday afternoon Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL and Dinamo KRASNODAR secured their qualification to the group stage of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Women. Eczacibasi did so by routing Minchanka MINSK in three sets – as did two-time CEV Cup winners Dinamo KRASNODAR in their matchup with Serbian sensation Vizura BEOGRAD, thus reversing the outcome of the previous match which the players from the Serbian capital had claimed at the tie-break. Two more spots for the group stage of Europe’s elite club competition were claimed on Saturday by Poland’s Tauron MKS DABROWA GORNICZA and Italy’s Liu Jo Nordmeccanica MODENA as these teams were able to capitalise on their respective victories over Agel PROSTEJOV and RC CANNES from earlier this week.
Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL (TUR) vs. Minchanka MINSK (BLR) 3-0 (25-14, 28-26, 25-19)
Eczacibasi VitrA cruised to a 3-0 victory over Minchanka to follow up on their 3-1 win from last Tuesday in Belarus and progress to the group stage and join Pool D which features the likes of another Turkish giant, VakifBank, plus Germany’s champions DRESDNER SC and Russia’s Uralochka-NMTK EKATERINBURG.
Eczacibasi came out with all guns blazing with Jordan Larson’s serves prompting an early time-out by Minchanka MINSK. Thaisa Daher Pallesi and Tijana Boskovic joined forces to score five points as Eczacibasi claimed a commanding 8-1 lead at the first technical time-out. Boskovic scored four in a row while standing behind the service line to make it 14-2. Minchanka tried to come back and reduced their gap down a bit (15-6) but Eczacibasi did not tremble and comfortably claimed the first set at a canter (25-14).
Minchanka MINSK responded by cruising to a 5-1 lead in the second set and they continued to set the tempo of the match also later on (12-5). After two substitutions – with Nilay Özdemir and Neslihan Demir Güler joining the game for the first time – Eczacibasi fought back to 12-11 but Minchanka still had a small edge at the second technical time-out (16-14). Two blocks by Thaisa and Rachael Adams closed the gap before Eczacibasi emerged on top at 28-26 with the set coming to an end after another attack closed by their Brazilian star Thaisa.
At this stage, Eczacibasi had already secured their progression to the group stage of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Women. Their coach Massimo Barbolini replaced Tatiana Kosheleva and Jordan Larson with Gözde Yilmaz and Hande Baladin, respectively. This did not prevent the home side from cruising to an 8-1 lead and after that young, rising star Baladin continued to score time and again to move the charts to 15-9. Eczacibasi had a six-point advantage at the second technical time-out of set 3 after showing great defence and with Boskovic contributing a few more points to their tally. Minchanka closed in at 17-16 but after a time-out asked by Barbolini, Eczacibasi resumed their triumphal march to finish the match off at 25-19.
Massimo Barbolini, head coach of Eczacibasi VitrA said: “It was very important to claim a 3-1 victory in Belarus earlier this week. After this 3-0 win, we got one extra boost of confidence as we move on to the group stage. Today it was about staying mentally focussed and strong. The more we play as team, the better our performance will get.”
Gülden Kayalar Kuzubasioglu, libero of Eczacibasi said: “It was extremely difficult to remain concentrated for the entire match. We had ups and downs but we are happy with moving to the group stage of this competition. We know the group stage matches will be a lot tougher as we know the quality of our opponents, but we will keep working hard and do our best to win this competition.”
Tauron MKS DABROWA GORNICZA (POL) vs. Agel PROSTEJOV (CZE) 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-19, 26-24)
Tauron MKS DABROWA GORNICZA lived up to their status of pre-favourites in the re-match with Czech national champions Agel PROSTEJOV. Though they dropped one set, the hosts from Poland cruised to a 3-1 victory – the second in five days – to secure their spot in the next round of the competition.
They join Pool C and will be taking there on Azerrail BAKU, Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL as well as on France’s reigning national champions ST-RAPHAËL Var VB.
The players of Agel PROSTEJOV caught a promising start to the match; however, Tauron MKS slowly but surely found their game and eventually won the opening set by 25-19. The second set was a very close ride with the Czechs emerging victorious at 25-23. The two teams exchanged the lead back and forth in the third set before Tauron MKS used their block and serve to stamp a 25-19 set win. At this stage, Tauron MKS DABROWA GORNICZA had secured their spot in the group stage of the competition. As a result, their coach Juan Manuel Serramalera decided to use some of his reserve players for the remainder of the match – and playing without pressure the Poles claimed a 3-1 victory with Kamila Ganszczyk receiving the award for the best player of the match.
RC CANNES (FRA) vs. Liu Jo Nordmeccanica MODENA (ITA) 1-3 (24-26, 26-28, 25-23, 9-25)
RC CANNES had one option only on Saturday night when taking to the court at Palais des Victoires. They were supposed to catch a flying start to their re-match with MODENA in order to keep alive their chances of progressing to the group stage of the CEV Volleyball Champions League after the players from the French Riviera had lost in three sets the previous matchup with the Italians earlier this week. Though they really put up a fight, RC CANNES ended up losing two close sets (24-26, 26-28) and after that their chances to move on to the next round were gone.
Nevertheless, 1,260 fans in attendance could be proud of the resistance shown by their favourite team in a matchup against a very solid Italian opponent which committed very few mistakes. The first set was a close race with RC CANNES leading 16-14 at the second technical time-out. Lorenzo Micelli, head coach of MODENA, had to ask for a break and this was a good move since his players first levelled the score at 19-all before they ended up taking the first set 26-24 after a close and dramatic deciding phase.
RC CANNES were not discouraged after losing such close opening set and piled up a four-point lead (12-8) in the second set which they kept all the way through to 24-21. At this point, MODENA stepped up, levelled the game and eventually took the second set as well, this time by 28-26. At this point RC CANNES stood no chance of progressing to the next round, and yet the hosts continued to fight for every point and deservedly won the third set 25-23. The fourth set, however, was dominated by the visitors (25-9), with MODENA sealing a 3-1 victory.
Neriman Özsoy top scored for the Italians with 21 points, followed by Laura Heyrman and Jovana Brakocevic Canzian with 12 and 11, respectively. Nadiia Kodola paced RC CANNES with 17 as Gergana Dimitrova and Olga Savenchuk contributed with 16 and 15 to the French tally.
RC CANNES head coach Laurent Tillie could hardly hide his disappointment at the end of the match: “We developed a very good game in the first and second sets where we played at the very same level of the Italians and this adds further frustration to our disappointment. We made the necessary adjustments after losing the first match and these brought the desired and expected results. Now we need to focus on the national league, the French Cup and of course we hope to come back stronger than ever for the CEV Cup where we continue our European journey this season.”
Dinamo KRASNODAR (RUS) vs. Vizura BEOGRAD (SRB) 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-23)
Two-time CEV Cup winners Dinamo KRASNODAR stormed back from their tie-break loss in the Serbian capital to rout Vizura BEOGRAD in three sets and progress to the group stage of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Women and more specifically to Pool B joining there Dinamo MOSCOW, Romania’s CS Volei Alba BLAJ and Switzerland’s Volero ZÜRICH.
Actually the match started in the best way for Vizura with two straight aces by Aleksandra Čirović and another two points scored by Sara Lozo. Dinamo coach Konstantin Ushakov was forced to ask for an early time-out and his players responded well; however, Vizura did not lose composure and edged ahead by five points at 9-4. Dinamo showed much resilience and determination as they fought back to make it 11-all before moving the score to 12-11 in their favour with a block. Victoriia Chaplina prompted a Serbian time-out as Dinamo powered to a 14-12 lead before Vizura stormed back to claim a 16-15 lead at the second technical time-out. The Russians, however, did not tremble and restored their leadership at 19-16. The hosts were anchored by their captain, Maria Perepelkina, as they extended their lead to 21-16 before Anastasia Shlyakhovaya and Elena Yureva brought the set to an end at 25-18 Dinamo’s way.
Vizura came out strong in the second set leading the way 4-1 before Dinamo scored four in a row to make it 5-4. After edging ahead (8-6) at the first technical time-out, Dinamo remained focussed – but so did Vizura as well with the score staying tight up to 14-all. Dinamo scored two points in a row to call for the second technical time-out and the home side continued to stay in front at 18-16. Vizura fought bravely to restore equality at 21-21 and even edged ahead at 22-21 following an ace by Katarina Lazović. Ushakov stopped the game and Dinamo scored twice in a row as actions resumed. A service error by Vizura eventually finished the second set with Dinamo having the upper hand at 25-23.
Dinamo opened set 3 with three straight points but Vizura responded with a run of six points of their own. Dinamo levelled at 6-all before Olesya Nikolaeva prompted the first technical time-out with the Russians leading by the smallest margin at 8-7. The third set was like a copy of the previous one with the score remaining close up to 9-all. Home star Elena Yureva helped Dinamo edge ahead at 12-9 but Vizura would not give in (12-11). After trailing 13-14, Yureva stepped up to help Dinamo edge ahead again at 16-15. The score remained tight almost through to the end (20-20); at 23-23, Dinamo claimed match point and they used their very first opportunity to claim a spot in the group stage of Europe’s elite competition where they are making this season their first, historic appearance.
The head coach of Dinamo KRASNODAR, Konstantin Ushakov said: “I am very happy with moving to the next round of the CEV Volleyball Champions League. We will be playing some tough opponents like Dinamo MOSCOW and Volero. It will be a great experience for my team. We have to work harder; there are things we still have to improve on. I am sure we can play in a better way. Today we started the match quite nervously. We were not ready to cope with such flying start by our opponents. I told my players that Vizura BEOGRAD would take many risks with their serve and we would need to attack high balls. My players tried to put pressure on Vizura, but at some stages of the match they were not that successful in doing so. The opponents did not cause any surprise; we were fully ready for the game. Today we won thanks to our good serving and good blocking. I would say that everything went according to our game plan.”
Home star Natalia Malykh said: “I can only say that we are incredibly happy. Tonight we played as a team. Of course, we made mistakes, but we showed a huge desire to win. Vizura BEOGRAD was a serious opponent. They have a great team spirit. In the re-match we could handle this better than we did in Serbia. The game was intense. In my opinion, the key components of the game were our blocking and our defence. In the early stages of the first set we were extremely nervous and because of that we quickly trailed 0-4. It is always easier to play at home, but this time we also had more time to prepare for the re-match with Vizura.”
Ana Matovic, player of Vizura BEOGRAD, said: “Congratulations to Dinamo KRASNODAR. It was a good game and the final score does not reflect the way it was played by the two teams. I think one single ball could have changed everything. We are a young team and the participation in this kind of competition is a great experience for us. As I said, we have a young team, but the good thing is that time is on our side. I would also like to point out the atmosphere surrounding tonight’s game. The spectators were really supportive. It is always a pleasure to play under such conditions.”
Nenad Mihajlovic, assistant coach of Vizura, said: “Tonight we played really good and this is the maximum we can achieve. Dinamo and Vizura have a different potential. Dinamo have five members of the Russian national team on their roster; as for us, we have many young players who do not have that much experience at this level. I cannot compare the two matches; on Tuesday night we were inspired and played our game. We had a long journey to travel to Krasnodar and could not find enough power and stamina to win tonight. It was an interesting match and in my opinion both teams performed well. I hope that the fans enjoyed it. I wish good luck to Dinamo for their next matches in this competition and the best of success to us for our campaign in the CEV Cup.”
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