Luxembourg, February 25, 2020.  Spor Toto SC Ankara and Sporting Club Lisboa celebrated victorious in Tuesday’s first-leg quarterfinals of the men’s CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup 2020. The Turkish side shut out VK CEZ Karlovarsko at home, while the squad from Lisbon and their hosts Penzugyor Budapest raced through a five-set drama.

At the Baskent hall, Spor Toto SC Ankara emerged with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-19) win over Czechia’s VK CEZ Karlovarsko. The first set of the game in the Turkish capital was a big battle, with the lead frequently going back and forth between the two teams. The scoring race between Karlovarsko’s Canadian Marc Wilson (seven points, including six blocks) and Spor Toto’s Australian Lincoln Williams (six points) ended in favour of the former, but it was the home side that snatched the win at 25-22. The next two sets were quite similar, also very competitive for the most part, but with Spor Toto dominating in the money time – 25-19 and 25-19. Williams tallied 20 points to become the game’s best scorer, while his Brazilian teammate Leonardo Ferreira do Nascimento added another 15. The return game in Karlovy Vary is on March 4.


Sporting’s Angel Dennis Diaz in action against Penzugyor

In a rollercoaster match in the Hungarian capital, Portugal’s Sporting Club Lisboa snatched a 3-2 (25-18, 22-25, 19-25, 25-22, 15-8) victory over hosts Penzugyor Budapest. While Sporting dominated the first set with their blocks, the Hungarians stepped up their spiking efforts in the next two to take the lead. In a very hard-fought fourth set, it was the high productivity of the Portuguese attack that made the difference on the way to the fifth set. In the tiebreaker, Sporting stunned the opponents with a phenomenal 91% success rate in attack, which delivered the final victory. Italian opposite Angel Dennis Diaz scored a match high of 20 points for the winners, while his 206-cm-tall Hungarian counterpart Zoltan Kovacs tallied 19. The decider in Lisbon is on March 5.


For more info, go to the CEV Challenge Cup 2020 section.