04/03/2015 00:52
Rabita back on track, make it one step closer to CEV Cup semis
2015 CEV Volleyball Cup - Women
Agde, France, March 3, 2015. Azerbaijan’s giant Rabita BAKU did not show any mercy for the home heroines of BEZIERS VB and after a disappointing campaign in the 2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League, the team from Azerbaijan’s capital got back on track cruising to a 3:1 away win (22-25, 26-28, 25-14, 25-21) to make a first step on their way towards the semis of the 2015 CEV Volleyball Cup. The return match with BEZIERS VB is now coming up next Thursday, March 12, in Baku.
It was not the first time that Rabita and BEZIERS VB were crossing their ways in the European Cups as last season they had been assigned to the same Pool in the 2014 edition of the CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League. Once again the multi-national armada from Azerbaijan proved too strong for the home side even though the hosts offered some good resistance especially in the first and second sets. The late stages of the opening set were particularly exciting, even more after Norway’s Mari Aase Hole finished a long rally for the home side to make it 19:22. Two more points were contributed by Pauline Martin as she was standing behind the service line but in the end one of many superstars on the roster of Rabita, Katarzyna Skowronska-Dolata, finished it off for BAKU at 25-22.
BEZIERS VB showed their determination in the second set and if the visitors from Azerbaijan had thought they would make an easy work of the French ladies, they were caught by surprise. The hosts were able to stand the pressure put by Rabita’s spikers and with an outstanding performance by Hélène Schleck, the score remained tight, with BEZIERS VB showing also some good blocks. After a series of three straight points by Rabita following a tie at 18, Schleck once again powered back the home team and the recently appointed head coach of Rabita, Zoran Gajic, stopped the game. The match continued with a point-by-point run but this time around it was BEZIERS VB to celebrate in the end for the joy of 700 fans in attendance.
This final rush took a lot of energy from the players of BEZIERS VB who caught a very bad start in set 3; on the other side of the net, Rabita BAKU looked merciless and all attempts made by home mentor Cyril Ong to stop that storm did not work. Skowronska was on a class of her own and BEZIERS VB was punished as the set ended in a terrific 25-14 win for the visiting team.
After a slow start, BEZIERS VB came back strong in set 4 from 5:10 to lead by 11:10. However, after this positive series, Rabita responded by moving the score up to 17:12 in their favour. The hosts played with glowing hearts and reduced their deficit down to two points (16:18) thereby forcing Rabita into a time-out. BEZIERS VB kept their hopes alive to make it to a tie-break but in the end their dreams were crashed by Skowronska who finished the match on an impressive tally of 22 points.
Click here for more info including detailed stats of the match
|