17/02/2016 19:09
Halkbank rout DHL MODENA to celebrate straight-sets home win
2016 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Men
Ankara, Turkey, February 17, 2016. On Wednesday Turkey’s Halkbank ANKARA cruised to a commanding straight-sets victory (25-20, 25-21, 25-13) over Italy’s standout DHL MODENA in the first round of the Playoffs 12 of the 2016 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men. The 2014 CL silver medallists from Turkey’s capital delivered a superb performance to get the right edge before the return match which is scheduled for March 3 in Italy.
Actually the match did not start in the best way for Halkbank as the hosts made a series of mistakes and DHL MODENA quickly piled up a 3-0 lead. However, Halkbank promptly fought back and with a series of strong services they flipped the charts and moved the score to 8-7 in their favour at the first technical time-out. Kevin Le Roux was instrumental to Halkbank’s dominance after the break as he spiked and served vigorously to claim a four-point lead for the home team at the second technical time-out (16-12). DHL MODENA were able to find a way to respond to the Turkish pressure and levelled the score at 18-all before Halkbank broke away again and finished the opening set off at 25-20.
After suffering this setback in the first set, DHL MODENA stepped up their efforts in the second and their solid performance at the net resulted in an 8-7 lead at the first technical time-out. Michal Kubiak and Tsvetan Sokolov helped the home side get back on track and close in before Halkbank edged ahead (16-14) at the second mandatory stop. As DHL MODENA seemed to struggle from the service line, Halkbank could fairly easily impose their game and finished the second set at 25-21 to further cement their leadership in the match.
After that the third set was really one-sided. The players of DHL MODENA lost focus and concentration and everything went just easy for Halkbank. After leading 8-5 at the first technical time-out, the Turkish team accelerated the pace and this resulted in a massive 16-7 lead later on. Sokolov scored time and again to set the hosts’ sights on the finish line and they eventually achieved their goal following their commanding 25-13 win in the third set.
The President of Halkbank Sports Club Selahattin Süleymanoglu thanked the players and coaching staff for the excellent performance they delivered in the matchup with DHL MODENA and added: “We are sending the current leaders of the Italian national league back home with zero points from this match. This success is not one to be underestimated. We really needed this good result especially as our country has been confronted with so many problems lately. Our goal is to win the rematch in Italy by the same score and to continue our journey in the Playoffs 6.”
“DHL MODENA have one of the strongest teams in Europe but this is Volleyball and we are in good shape as we always do. We will use our full power until the last point of the return match and we will see how far this will be taking us but I do strongly believe in my team,” said Halkbank ANKARA setter and team captain Ulas Kiyak.
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