27/01/2016 23:39
Impelki’s dreams of progressing to Playoffs shattered by Telekom BAKU
2016 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Women
Wroclaw, Poland, January 27, 2016. On Wednesday night Azerbaijan’s Telekom BAKU claimed their first victory in this year’s CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women and their 3-2 win over Poland’s Impel WROCLAW (25-18, 23-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-11) in the last round of action in Pool E put an end to the hosts’ dreams of qualifying for the Playoff stage of Europe’s elite club competition.
It was not an easy game for Impel WROCLAW right from the start. Telekom BAKU had no chance of advancing to the next round but playing without pressure was definitely an advantage for the team from Azerbaijan’s capital. Steered by their team captain, Cuban-born Ana Cleger, the visitors scored a few points in a row and set the pace from the early stages of the first set. Katarzyna Skowronska-Dolata tried to respond for the home side but Telekom claimed a comfortable lead (21-13) to wrap up the set at 25-18.
Telekom BAKU continued to perform well also in the opening stages of the second set but Impel WROCLAW showed no intention of giving in. After a spike by Monika Ptak and a service ace by Carolina Costagrande, the hosts were able to level the score. The Impelki stepped up their efforts towards the end of the set and another ace by Costagrande put the final 25-23 for WROCLAW on the scoreboard.
The third set was the most one-sided of the match with Ana Cleger spiking time and again for the visiting team and it eventually came to an end at a compelling 25-16 for Telekom following a mistake made by Aleksandra Sikorska.
The players of Impel knew the fourth set was a make-or-break bout if they wanted to move on to the Playoffs. There were long and exciting rallies at this stage of the match as both teams fought with everything they had to get the edge over their opponents. Amazing blocks by Agnieszka Kakolewska combined with beautiful attacks by Kristin Hildebrand and Katarzyna Skowronska-Dolata helped Impel seize the set by 25-23.
However, after a very close fifth set, Telekom BAKU showed nerves of steel and with their 15-11 win they crashed Impel’s dreams of continuing their campaign in this year’s Champions League.
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