04/03/2015 23:45
Block Devils of PERUGIA continue to chase their dream following dramatic home win over Skra
2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Men
Perugia, Italy, March 4, 2015. The ‘Block Devils’ of Sir Safety PERUGIA – the only Italian team still in the race in the competition – keep alive their dream of making the Final Four tournament of the 2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men following their sensational 3:2 home victory over Poland’s giant PGE Skra BELCHATOW that on Wednesday night drove just crazy more than 3,500 fans in attendance at PalaEvangelisti. The rookies from Italy had the upper hand at the end of five tight sets (25-17, 20-25, 25-23, 23-25, 16-14) to set their sight on the Finals coming up on March 28-29 in Berlin, Germany. The re-match scheduled for next week at the Atlas Arena in Lodz is going to be a dramatic one both for the Italian team mentored by Nikola Grbic and for the 2012 silver medallists of Skra.
The first set started in the best way for the home heroes who cruised to a 13:5 lead and even the time-outs called by the head coach of Skra, Miguel Angel Falasca, could not change the course of the game. Aleksandar Atanasijevic was the shining star for the home side and a one-sided first set ended in a landslide 25-17 win for PERUGIA.
The second set was a way different with the score remaining tight up to 14 all before the visitors changed gear to make it 18:22 and closed it out at 20-25 to restore the balance in the match.
A thrilling third set then followed with PERUGIA leading by 19:16 before Skra fought back to make it 20 all. However, the home guys showed nerves of steel to bring the set to an end at 25-23 and add something more to celebrate for their many fans in attendance.
The home team continued to set the tempo also in the fourth set until Skra levelled the score at 16 all; the Poles eventually turned the tide at 18:19 and even though the hosts continued to fight, they could not prevent their opponent from cruising to the 23-25 that called for the tie-break.
The final set started in the best way for Sir Safety (8:5) and even though Skra played with glowing hearts, the ‘Block Devils’ were the ones to celebrate in the end (16-14).
“It was a tough match and unfortunately we lost the first set almost without playing and this had an impact on the development of the game,” said Skra’s mentor Miguel Angel Falasca. “We have to move on and we look forward to the re-match in Poland where we want to turn the tide after tonight’s loss.”
“This is a very important victory especially since our opponent had come here as the favourite of this fixture,” said Sir Safety PERUGIA’s team captain Goran Vujevic. “Fortunately we started the match in the best way and we are very happy with our performance tonight. However, we know that next week we will re-start from scratch and we need to confirm this result to make the Final Four.”
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