22/01/2014 19:53
Home party for JASTRZEBSKI with second straight victory to claim spot in Playoffs 6
2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men
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Jastrzebie-Zdroj, Poland, January 22, 2014. Poland’s JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel routed once more TOURS VB in straight sets (25-23, 25-16, and 25-22) as they had done a week ago in France to progress to the Playoffs 6 of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men where they may take on their compatriots of Asseco Resovia RZESZOW depending on the result of the game coming up on Wednesday night in Belgium with Knack ROESELARE.
The task for the players mentored by Italy’s Volleyball legend Lorenzo Bernardi was clear: they had to win another two sets in order to continue their campaign in Europe’s elite club competition. Last week they had already seized the night in straight sets and this time they could also count on some 3,000 fans all wearing the orange outfits that the club from Upper Silesia is known for.
As it had happened also in their last home match of the prelims with Halkbank ANKARA, JASTRZEBSKI started without their team captain and opposite Michal Lasko, who is still on his way to recover from an injury he suffered about one month ago. And once again, like in France last week, he was replaced by French-born wing-spiker Nicolas Maréchal.
The first set was very close and anytime one of the teams got a small margin, the other responded quickly compensating for that deficit. As the final rush approached, Michal Kubiak blocked Kamil Baranek and a counterattack by the home heroes called for two set balls for JASTRZEBSKI. The hosts did not exploit their first opportunity but Maréchal scored the following rally to make it 1:0 (25-23). TOURS VB was off to a flying start in the second set (1:3) but the situation changed and quite dramatically as Maréchal was standing behind the service line. With eight consecutive points the home side moved the score from 3:4 to 11:4 and by displaying a terrific pace quickly cruised to the 25-16 whereby they booked their pass to the Playoffs 6 after only 55 minutes of play. In the third set both head coaches made some changes to their starting six and nevertheless JASTRZEBSKI jumped out to a 5:0 lead. However, TOURS VB showed resilience and determination to fight their way back but in the end an outstanding Maréchal – top scorer with 14 points – paved the way for the final 25-22 and another 3:0 victory.
“The most important thing in this double clash was the away match in France” said JASTRZEBSKI wing-spiker Krzysztof Gierczynski. “That game did cost us a lot of energy and power.”
“The first set was crucial and at the beginning we looked quite nervous. However, after we brought it home, we got the right confidence and imposed our rhythm of the game. We played some great Volleyball later in the game showing the same determination I got to see last week in Tours” said Lorenzo Bernardi.
“In the first set we showed that we were willing to fight and that we stood a chance to win this game, however the last points were very important and we lost them all” commented the mentor of TOURS VB Mauricio Paes.
“JASTRZEBSKI played very well in defense and they exploited our mistakes” added TOURS VB team captain David Konecny. “However, I cannot explain why we lost in such a bad way.”
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