08/02/2017 23:01
CL titleholders rout Finnish opponent in CEV Cup 8th Finals
2017 CEV Volleyball Cup - Women
Cremona, Italy, February 8, 2017. Italy’s Pomì CASALMAGGIORE rallied to a 3-0 victory (25-18, 25-18, 25-17) in their home matchup with Finland’s HPK HÄMEENLINNA on schedule for the 8th Finals of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Cup – Women. Though the visitors came out with all guns blazing and put up a fight especially with the help of Piia Korhonen and Karoliina Friberg, the ‘Pink Ladies’ of CASALMAGGIORE delivered a very solid performance to secure a comprehensive 3-0 win. Lauren Gibbemeyer could not play for CASALMAGGIORE but eventual MVP Lorena Zuleta replaced her in the best way, with Jovana Stevanovic (pictured) and Carli Lloyd chiefly contributing to the Italians’ victory as well.
The third set was the most exciting one since the Finnish team played better and with more consistency. As many as 16 aces – 11 for CASALMAGGIORE and 5 for the Finns – were scored in the end, quite an interesting fact in a match that lasted for three sets only.
MVP Lorena Zuleta commented: “We had a difficult start, probably due to the fact that we are playing with a different ball in the European Cups than in the national league. However, we managed to adjust and did what we had to. Though we won 3-0, we must keep working hard so that we can confirm this result when we play them again in Finland.”
Giovanni Caprara, head coach of Pomì CASALMAGGIORE: “We played an excellent match and in the way we were supposed to do – so I am satisfied. We had some problems at the beginning of the match probably because this ball is lighter than the one we use in the national league but once we adjusted to it, everything went just fine and we showed a good performance.”
Luca Chiappini, head coach of HPK HÄMEENLINNA: “Let’s put it this way: it was a great experience for us, especially since we have a very young team. We played the best we could but we were a bit nervous at the beginning of the match, but it’s kind of normal.”
Click here for more info including detailed stats of the match
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