11/03/2015 16:44
SCHWERINER SC cause yet another sensation with second victory over Italian giant NOVARA to progress to Challenge Cup semis
2015 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup - Women
Schwerin, Germany, March 11, 2015. On Tuesday night Germany’s SCHWERINER SC completed the sensation they had caused last week in Italy claiming also the re-match of their quarterfinal fixture with Italy’s Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA to progress to the semis of the 2015 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup – Women. After recording a spectacular 3:1 victory in Italy, the Germans on Tuesday came back from two sets down (23-25, 15-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-11) to edge NOVARA at the tie-break and make the next-to-last stage of the competition.
The players of SCHWERINER SC just wanted to play aggressive and enjoy the re-match with a world-class opponent such as NOVARA but in the end they achieved much more. They started out strong leading the way by 8:4 in the opening set but eventually NOVARA fought their way back to make it 13:16 and 19:21 later on. SCHWERINER SC finally conceded the opening set to their opponents (23-25) before NOVARA easily imposed their rule in the second (15-25).
However, inspired by their 1,800 fans in attendance, SCHWERINER SC came back strong and the third set turned out to be the turning point of this match. SCHWERINER SC fought very hard and could stand the strong performance delivered by the visitors, having the upper hand at the end of a close final rush (25-23). In order to secure their ticket to the semis, SCHWERINER SC ‘just’ needed to win another set and they did so pocketing the fourth by 25-20 as an inspired Diana Nenova anchored her side to this historic feat and Anja Brandt scored the final point of the set. As the fate of this double clash was determined, SCHWERINER SC’s head coach Felix Koslowski decided to use his second lines for the tie-break and so did his Italian counterpart Luciano Pedullà. In the end SCHWERINER SC won also the fifth set by 15-11 bringing the match to an end after 124 minutes of play.
Looking at the stats, even though NOVARA recorded the best individual performances of the night, SCHWERINER SC could rely on their collective effort to seize the victory. Katarina Barun top scored in the match with 20 points and Lousi Souza Ziegler (15) was the only one wearing the shirt of the home side to end up among the top five. Anja Brandt, on the other hand, was the best server and best blocker in the match with SCHWERINER SC also counting on a solid performance by their libero Janine Völker.
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