01/02/2015 19:42
Olympiacos claim first trophy of so far impeccable domestic season
News from the clubs
Glyfada, Greece, February 1, 2015. Olympiacos PIRAEUS claimed this weekend their second title in the Cup organised by the Hellenic Volleyball League and named after former international star Nikos Samaras who prematurely passed away in 2013. Greece’s 2014 champions edged arch-rivals Ethnikos ALEXANDROUPOLIS by 3:1 (22-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-15) to win the trophy for the second time in their history after they had achieved the same feat in 2013.
After failing to make the Playoffs of the 2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men and missing out also on a chance to extend their European campaign in the Challenge Round of the 2015 CEV Volleyball Cup, Olympiacos turned their sight to the domestic arena and – while still vying to retain their titles in the national league and national cup – could celebrate the first accolade of a still long season. Olympiacos haven’t lost any single match so far this year in domestic competitions and will continue to fight for the highest honours as the national league and cup will move on to their last and most exciting stages. As for Ethnikos, the team mentored by head coach Athanasios Moustakidis is still in the race for a spot in the semis of the 2015 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup – Men and will be playing Benfica LISBOA of Portugal in early March in an effort to make the next-to-last stage of that competition.
Bozidar Cuk top scored for Ethnikos at the end of a closely contested match with 24 points whilst USA’s Carson Martin Clark paced Olympiacos with 21.
The Makis Liougas sports hall in Glyfada was filled up with 1,500 Volleyball fans for the high-fly match starring Greece’s top teams this year. In the end Stavros Kasampalis of Ethnikos received the award for the best setter of the competition, whilst Milan Jurisic and Carson Martin Clark of Olympiacos claimed the prizes for the best blocker and spiker, respectively. Georgios Stefanou, another home star of Olympiacos, swept the honours for the best libero and MVP.
List of honours – Hellenic Volleyball League Cup ‘Nikos Samaras’
2012: Foinikas SYROS
2013: Olympiacos PIRAEUS
2014: A.E.K. ATHENS
2015: Olympiacos PIRAEUS
|