16/12/2015 22:57
VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN back on track with solid home win over PARIS Volley
2016 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men
Friedrichshafen, Germany, December 16, 2015. On Wednesday night Germany’s VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN claimed their re-match with France’s PARIS Volley and the ‘Häfler’ did so in style as they cruised to a 3:0 victory (26-24, 27-25, 25-19) for their first ‘hurrah’ in Pool B of the 2016 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men.
VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN started determined to turn the tide after three consecutive losses in Europe’s elite competition. Both teams took a lot of risks from the service line – but PARIS Volley had more luck and caught a solid start in the match (2:2, 5:8). However, FRIEDRICHSHAFEN didn’t give up, and with an ace by Baptiste Geiler the hosts forced PARIS Volley into a time-out (8:8). The score stayed close up until the second technical timeout, and after that it was VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN who scored with two big blocks and an impressive attack by Geiler (18:15). PARIS Volley responded well (19:19), but in the end VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN seemed to find the better answers (22:21, 24:23) before the set came to a close at 26-24 on a mistake by the French visitors.
In the second set the best start was for VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN as the hosts piled up a 4:1 lead and PARIS Volley called an early time-out. The visitors needed some time but eventually came back very strong (6:8, 12:12). Time and again both teams fought for each point as much as they could and a series of long rallies delighted the audience (16:16, 21:21, 24:24). It was Michal Finger who came in to support the Häfler block towards the end of the set and he did very well by stopping the last ball for 27-25.
The tide began to turn in the third set. Now it was PARIS Volley who scored time and again and VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN were left trailing (1:4, 5:10). However, the hosts showed a lot of focus and determination in their comeback after the first technical time-out (8:12, 12:13). They stormed back with a series of powerful attacks and eventually they took the lead again at 18:17 on a big block by Adrian Gontariu. With the help of 1,500 spectators VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN got extra positive energy to score some more points and it was again Gontariu who cashed the match ball and sealed a prestigious 3:0 win (25-19).
Top scorers were opposite spikers Adrian Gontariu (17 points) for VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN and Mitja Gasparini (14 points) for PARIS Volley.
“Congratulations to my team,” Stelian Moculescu said after the win. “Today we played on a steady high level and I am especially proud that we could win such close sets as the first and second ones of this match.”
Click here for more info including detailed stats of the match
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