27/01/2016 20:53
Atomic Girls rout Slovenian rookies to secure their progression to CL Playoffs
2016 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Women
Sopot, Poland, January 27, 2016. 78 minutes were enough for PGE Atom Trefl SOPOT to rout Calcit LJUBLJANA 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-11) and secure their spot in the Playoffs 12 taking second place in Pool B of the 2016 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women. The rookies from Slovenia looked very motivated to try and seize their chance but finished their first campaign in Europe’s elite competition without winning a single set. The Atomic Girls, on the other hand, were not able to stand a chance against Turkey’s standout VakifBank ISTANBUL, but they won all of their remaining matches in the pool by dropping only one set along the way. Now Lorenzo Micelli and his team are looking forward to knowing the name of their opponent in the next phase, which will be announced on Thursday following the Drawing of Lots that will take place at the CEV headquarters at 11 am CET. The CEV will also announce the name of the club that will be hosting Final Four Tournament scheduled for April 9-10, 2016.
Although the team from SOPOT needed to win ‘only’ two sets to secure a spot in the Playoffs 12, the hosts had declared before the game that one point would not be enough to make them happy and that they would fight for a complete set of three points. Lorenzo Micelli opted for his best starting six with the only exception being libero Agata Durajczyk, who was replaced by youngster Klaudia Kulig.
The visitors from Slovenia started the match really good leading the way by three points at the first technical time-out (8-5). PGE Atom Trefl made too many mistakes and couldn’t find their best play for at least ten minutes. After that, the hosts finally fought back to level the score at 9-all. The players of Calcit LJUBLJANA did their best to keep the pace of their opponents and were able to claim a three-point lead also at the second technical time-out (16-13). After the break, the Atomic Girls started a real Volleyball show which resulted in them scoring five points in a row (20-17). Poland’s vice champions did not look back anymore and the hosts finished the set off at 25-21.
The early stages of the second set belonged again to Calcit LJUBLJANA (8-6). Lorenzo Micelli reacted quickly changing his line-up, with Anna Miros being the first to join the actions to be followed by Anna Kaczmar, Klaudia Kaczorowska and Magdalena Damaske. After the Italian mentor decided to change almost his entire starting six the hosts turned the tide and had a margin of five points at the second technical time-out (16-11) with some great blocks killed by Damaske and Zuzanna Efimienko. The remainder of the set was completely controlled by the hosts, who could keep a comfortable lead all the way through. After piling up a series of set balls, the Atomic Girls lost two points in a row, what forced Lorenzo Micelli to ask for a time-out. After listening to their mentor, the hosts came back fully motivated and energised to claim the second set by 25-22 and with it secure their progression to the Playoffs.
The third set was a chance for middle blockers Justyna Lukasik and Brittnee Cooper to show what they are capable of. The Italian coach retained also Kaczorowska, Kaczmar and Damaske from the line-up he has used in the second set, with setter Danica Radenkovic back to action. The tempo of the last set was dictated by PGE Atom Trefl SOPOT. The Slovenian players tried not to lose their faith, but they couldn’t find a way to stop the home players who played better in every aspect of the game. At the second technical time-out SOPOT edged ahead by seven points (16-9) after great serving provided by Kaczorowska. Calcit LJUBLJANA’s mentor tried to change the course of the game with some more substitutions but there was no way to stop the momentum showed by the home team. The Atomic Girls ultimately cruised to a dominant 25-11 set win to take three points – as they had announced – from their last match in Pool B.
Maret Balkestein-Grothues top scored in the end for PGE Atom Trefl SOPOT with eight points. Olivera Kostic paced Calcit LJUBLJANA with 10.
Calcit LJUBLJANA coach Gasper Ribic commented after the match: “It was the first year for us in the Champions League, and we had a great experience playing with such good teams. I believe that we learned a lot and I hope it will help us for the future. I am happy with the way my team performed in the early stages of the first and second sets. However, in the third set we just could not control their serve and that is why the hosts won it by a landslide.”
“We are happy that we can play in the next stage of the Champions League, and I have no preferences for the next opponent whose name we will get to know tomorrow. I believe that we can win with anyone, so we will see who will be on the other side of the net, and we will do our best and fight in the next games as well,” said Brittnee Copper, PGE Atom Trefl SOPOT middle blocker.
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