06/02/2013 22:02
German rookie prolongs its dreams of European glory
2013 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup - Women
Hamburg, Germany, February 6, 2013. Germany’s rookie Aurubis HAMBURG prolonged its dreams of European glory after edging on Wednesday Romania’s C.S.M. BUCURESTI in straight sets (25-20, 25-11, and 25-15) in the first round of action for the 1/4 finals of the 2013 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup – Women. However, it was not that easy as the guests from Romania showed their quality and potential which are definitely not to be compared with the previous opponents that Aurubis played in the competition.
C.S.M. BUCURESTI started out strong as the hosts looked a little nervous but after that the teams exchanged the lead in the score quite often before the home heroines accelerated the pace and pocketed the provisional 1:0 (25-20) via a spike killed by Vendula Merkova who scored 6 points in the first set, well supported by Sarah Ammerman and Els Vandesteene with 5 apiece. Aurubis attacked with an efficiency rate of 39% which was slightly better than the 31% recorded by the guests.
Aurubis imposed their supremacy in the second set quickly cruising away (8:2, and 16:6) and could cash the second set after only twenty minutes (25-11) with Merkova being once more the most prolific scorer for the home side with 7 points. The stats did reflect a major change in the plot of the game as Aurubis efficiency in attack had moved up to 50% while that same figure had dramatically dropped down to 24% for C.S.M. BUCURESTI.
Aurubis dominated the scene also in the third set standing out with their attacks and blocks to ultimately wrap it up in straight sets (25-15).
“I am very pleased with the result but I still think that there’s room for improvement” said head coach Helmut von Soosten after the match. “We played with good consistency but the team has the potential to go for more”.
“We did not show any power and could not find a way through their block but I still think we have some chances to reverse this result via the return game coming up next week in Romania” added C.S.M. BUCURESTI head coach Ion Dobre.
Click here for more info including detailed stats of the match
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