22/01/2015 20:29
JASTRZEBSKI with come-from-behind victory in Bulgaria to stay in contention for Playoff spot
2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Men
Samokov, Bulgaria, January 22, 2015. After a very close and hard-fought match, Poland’s JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel had the upper hand in their clash with Bulgaria’s champions Marek Union-Ivkoni DUPNITSA on schedule for the fifth round of action in Pool B of the 2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men. The guests from Upper Silesia did not expect to have to fight that much but finally they could celebrate a happy end after five close sets (25-18, 18-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-7). This way last year’s bronze medallists got a step closer to a possible qualification to the Playoffs waiting for the last round coming up next week.
The start of the match did not surprise anyone with the guests from Poland setting the pace of the game (8:4) as many had predicted. They continued to keep that same margin also at the second technical time-out (16:12) and until the head coach of Marek, Nayden Naydenov, decided to stop the game since his guys were trailing 13:18 and not performing their best at all. However, he could not stop his opponent and even though he changed his opposite with Venelin Kadankov replacing Mihael Mandzhukov, JASTRZEBSKI comfortably cruised to a 25-18 set win.
The start of the second set was marked by an unexpected 4-0 run for DUPNITSA; the hosts could keep that margin also at the first technical time-out (8:4) and with some more excellent actions at the net the guys around head coach Nayden Naydenov widened it up to five points (11:6). The guests could no longer keep the same pace they had displayed in the first set and after calling for the second mandatory stop by the score of 16:9, DUPNITSA continued to play superbly to win the set by 25-18 and restore the balance in the match.
Marek continued to play with the same intensity also in the third set claiming a two-point lead early on before struggling with their attacks and let JASTRZEBSKI move to the front at the first technical break (6:8). The game remained close all the way through the end and this time opposite Mihael Mandzhukov opened a small cushion for the hosts with the final 25-22 and provisional 2:1 lead in sets being sealed by a single block of their team captain Gjorgi Gjorgiev.
JASTRZEBSKI regrouped and with good serving claimed an 8:5 lead at the first technical time-out of the fourth set. The guests had significantly improved their performance in reception and got up by 16:12 and later on by 22:17. The head coach of DUPNITSA tried to stop their march by asking for a time-out but this move could not help and with another 25-18 – the same score they had sealed in the first set – the Poles extended the match to the tie-break.
The guests showed a lot of determination right from the start of the decider and were up by 4:1 as Naydenov asked for a time-out. It did not help as the two teams changed side of the court with the Poles leading the way by a massive 8:2 which paved the way for the final 15-7 and 3:2 victory for JASTRZEBSKI.
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