03/03/2021 20:30
BLAJ and Sistem9 Yesilyurt to lock horns in #CEVChallengeCupW final
CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup 2021 - Women
Luxembourg, March 3, 2021. C.S.M. Volei Alba BLAJ of Romania and Turkey’s Sistem9 Yesilyurt ISTANBUL will contest the final of the women’s CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup 2021 after these teams claimed also their respective semi-final re-matches with 1. MCM-Diamant KAPOSVAR and THY ISTANBUL.
KAPOSVAR had already made history becoming the first team from Hungary to reach the semis of the Challenge Cup. However, last week they suffered a 0-3 setback at the hands of BLAJ and they needed some sort of a miracle at home to reverse that score. However, the best the team of KAPOSVAR could achieve was to take the first set; after that, BLAJ imposed their rhythm and could respond to the challenge posed by the Hungarians. Ioana Maria Baciu top scored for the Romanian team with 24 points, as Sara Klisura and Olena Kharchenko registered 18 apiece for the home side. This is the third European final in four years for BLAJ, who lost the Champions League and CEV Cup gold medal matches in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Bojana Milenkovic and Jovana Kocic of C.S.M. Volei Alba BLAJ trying to block Hanna Bodovics
The ’impossible goal’ for KAPOSVAR was to win the re-match by 3-0 or 3-1 to go for the Golden Set. They started well, taking the first set 25-23 with the help of Klisura and Kharchenko, and they even claimed a four-point advantage in the second set. However, this is where the players of BLAJ changed pace, improving the quality of their performance, especially in defence. The hosts put up a good fight but could not prevent BLAJ from securing a 25-18 win despite their libero, Silvija Popovic, suffering an injury and Aleksandra Spasenic having to take her place. BLAJ fought back from a 2-7 deficit in the third set and the remainder of the set was a truly close race. However, by emerging victorious at 27-25 after cancelling a set point for KAPOSVAR, BLAJ secured their spot in the final of the Challenge Cup. The fourth set did not have much of a meaning and despite all the efforts of Klisura, KAPOSVAR ended up losing the match 1-3.
Over to Turkey, European Cups rookies Sistem9 Yesilyurt ISTANBUL (pictured above) claimed their second 3-2 victory in as many matches with city rivals THY ISTANBUL. Ebrar Karakurt scored as many as 33 times for THY ISTANBUL, but that was not enough for the team sponsored by Turkish Airlines to make it to the final stage of a European competition for the first time in their history. After scoring a massive 47 points the day before, Alexia Ioana Carutasu registered 27 points for Sistem9 Yesilyurt in their winning effort.
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