Treviso, Italy, April 23, 2017. After two titanic battles yesterday, things started where they finished with a large crowd attending the match to decide the Bronze Medals.  Truth be told, neither team hoped to be in this match, but they were and you could sense that both wanted to win to take the last spot on the podium.  In the first set Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL started the strongest and followed this through to a first set victory 25-19, while the second the roles were reversed as Dinamo MOSCOW took it 25-18.  The third set was a close affair but the Turkish team just edged it 25-23 before a 25-22 set victory saw them claim the Bronze Medals.

We will aim to update this report after each set, but for more regular updates you can follow all of the action on Twitter @CEVolleyballCL or by using the official event hashtag: #CLF4Treviso

Set 1

The first set started well for the Turkish side, with them sailing to an 8-2 lead at the first technical time-out.  There were a large number of long rallies, predominantly going the way of Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL, like this one:

Neslihan Demir Güler, who was in for Tijana Boskovic, was getting a lot of joy, especially with tip shots and she guided her team to a 25-19 set victory killing 67% of balls she was given.  The Dinamo MOSCOW plan of serving at Hande Baladin (who made 12 of 17 receptions) was not going as they had hoped.

Set 2

Seeming to wake up one set earlier than the night before, Dinamo MOSCOW led by two points at the first technical time-out (8-6). Led by their Libero and Setter combination, the Russian team kept their lead right through to the twenties with Eczacibasi coach Massimo Barbolini using substitutions and time-outs to try and bring the set back.

In the end, despite the introduction of Tatiana Kosheleva, among others, the Russian team took the set 25-18 to tie the match at one set all.  One noticeable difference between the first and second sets was that the reception percentage of Dinamo MOSCOW increased from 40% up to 83%.

Set 3

The third set started closely with an ace from Dominican Republican star Bethania de la Cruz, taking her team into the first technical time-out leading 8-7.  However, from here the Turkish team of Eczacibasi rallied well and started to pull away.  Much to the frustration of Coach Yury Panchenko, the errors that were so evident in the first set started to creep back into the play of Dinamo MOSCOW.  It was 16-13 at the second technical, and the game flowed until the 2,000 strong crowd were treated to this rally at 21-18 to the Turkish team:

Following that Dinamo responded and forced a time-out at 24-22 but it was not enough as Eczacibasi took the set 25-23.

Set 4

Again another close set which showed off all of the best aspects of the women`s game. 

16-15 at the second technical and the introduction of the double sub (Boskovic and Nilay Özdemir) moved their team on even further, before a blocking masterclass took the set for Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL 25-22 and with it the Gold medals!

Maja Ognjenovic, setter of Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL: “Yesterday we lost pretty badly, but we found motivation to play today. Dinamo MOSCOW has a great squad, but I think we had more satisfaction to play that match. We deserved to finish with the bronze medals, not only for the team but our entire club and supporters. We have to be happy, maybe not as much as if this would have been the gold medal, but at least we go home with bronze in our pockets.  We changed as few players and you could see in the end that it worked. I’m glad we have 12 players who can come in and make a difference.”

Massimo Barbolini, head coach of Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL: “Any victory is better than a loss, whether it’s a friendly match or bronze medal match. I realise in two or three years nobody will remember silver or bronze medallists but the meaning of this victory is big. After less than 24 hours we came back here and didn’t give up and we played well. It wasn’t a typical third place match when players often make mistakes and lack motivation, both teams played really good. This is another reason why this victory is important for my team. I can see that we are able to continue to finish this season, to fight for third place in the Turkish league and the World Club Championship in Japan.”

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