22/01/2015 22:35
‘Block Devils’ of PERUGIA make it five in a row to secure first place in Pool G
2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men
Perugia, Italy, January 22, 2015. Italy’s Sir Safety PERUGIA – though a rookie in the competition – continued to leave their mark on the 2015 edition of the CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men as on Thursday night the ‘Block Devils’ stamped a 3:0 victory over France’s TOURS VB (25-19, 25-23, 25-20) to cement their leadership in Pool G. The Italians have a perfect record of five victories in as many matches and have already secured their ticket to the Playoff round.
Both teams opted for their usual starting six and TOURS VB called for the first technical time-out leading the way by the smallest margin. The first set was close almost all the way through the end until Sir Safety PERUGIA broke away for the final 25-19 contributed by outside spiker Christian Fromm and two aces of their Serbian opposite Aleksandar Atanasijevic. The Italians were the ones who set the pace of the game in the second set cruising to a 12:6 comfortable lead; still, TOURS VB clawed back vigorously and another close final rush was decided in favour of the hosts by two aces of their German star Christian Fromm. The third and eventually final set followed a similar plot with Fromm making once again the difference for the hosts with his spikes and serves. This straight-set victory made sure that PERUGIA will finish the League Round atop the tables in Pool G regardless of the outcome of next week’s final Pool match with Halkbank ANKARA in Turkey’s capital.
Oleg Antonov, player of TOURS VB, said: “We knew that this was going to be a difficult match since PERUGIA is a very strong team. They have proved it once again tonight by delivering a very good performance. We did not show our best side and missed out on our chances, especially by the end of the second set which we should have won. We have to work hard to improve and from now on our focus will turn to the national league since we are virtually eliminated from the European Cups.”
The setter of PERUGIA, Luciano De Cecco, commented: “We played well and we knew that a victory tonight was very important, especially for our morale, since we had lost all of our matches so far in the New Year. We had lost some matches lately but we knew where we had to improve. Last week we worked very hard to prepare for this match and to get where we stand now. I am happy with the result and I think that we are a bit relieved now and we can re-start our campaign also in the national league with the right boost of confidence.”
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