17/02/2016 23:44
TRENTINO secure tie-break win to survive Belgian scare
2016 CEV DenizBank Champions League Volleyball - Men
Maaseik, Belgium, February 17, 2016. Belgium’s Volley ASSE-LENNIK managed to put pressure on Italian giants TRENTINO Diatec in their home game on schedule for the Playoffs 12 of the 2016 CEV DenizBank Champions League Volleyball – Men. The home side put on a great fight against the visitors, nearly missing out on a sensational win in the tie-break after leading 10-9 in the fifth and final set. TRENTINO had to fight with everything they had before the Italian champions could celebrate a hard-fought 3-2 victory (23-25, 25-17, 25-22, 21-25, 15-13).
The game started with a very close fight and ASSE-LENNIK recovering from trailing 3-6 before levelling the score at 10-all. Middle blocker Sebastian Solé proved to be a good finisher for TRENTINO, while Robin Overbeeke did the same thing for the home side. That resulted in a 16-13 lead at the second technical time-out for the hosts after Robbert Andringa stamped a block on Gabriele Nelli to put an end to a brilliant rally. Both teams refused to let the other gain a reassuring margin, and as a result the score moved from 18-18 to 23-23 with each team scoring alternately. After that tie, José Miguel Sugrañes and Reinis Pekmans finished it off at 25-23 in favour of the home team.
The second set also started with both teams putting on a great show, but TRENTINO broke away first at 10-6. ASSE-LENNIK was forced to chase the visitors, but they could never really catch up with them. After leading 16-11 at the second technical time-out, TRENTINO moved the score to 21-14. The home team didn’t recover from that blow, so Nelli and Tine Urnaut were able to help the Italians secure their first set win in the match at 25-17.
Set three initially proved to be a carbon copy of the second one, with a balanced performance from both sides being followed by a narrow gap in favour of the Italians at 10-7. Overbeeke brought ASSE-LENNIK back to a one-point deficit at 11-10, but the visitors snuck away again to lead 14-11. ASSE-LENNIK struggled to get back and couldn’t get any closer than three points until Adrian Staszewski hammered some great services in the direction of the Italians, this reducing the gap of the Belgians at 18-20. A hard attack through the middle from Solé made it 22-19 for TRENTINO and Oleg Antonov claimed three set balls for the Italians at 24-21. As Pekmans missed his next attack, TRENTINO got the edge in the match by pocketing set 3 at 25-22.
ASSE-LENNIK knew it had to come out strong in the fourth set if they wanted to avoid a pointless loss, and took a narrow advantage at the first technical break (8-7). Both teams really put on a great show again, with powerful attacks and exciting rallies entertaining the audience. The biggest gap was the 16-14 advantage ASSE-LENNIK secured at the second technical time-out, but TRENTINO equalised at 17-17. After the score stood at 19-19, Overbeeke and Martijn Colson managed to claim a small cushion for the home side at 22-19. It was yet again Overbeeke who proved to be in great form, bringing ASSE-LENNIK to the tie-break at 25-21.
Four sets couldn’t separate these two teams, so a tie-break had to force a decision about who would take the advantage for the return match in Italy. Both teams started out strong, which led to a balanced score all the way through to 7-7 after some great individual performances. Seppe Baetens scored the 8-7 at the side switch, but TRENTINO didn’t let that gap grow any further. Simon Van de Voorde brought TRENTINO back on track at 11-11, after which Overbeeke made two rare but crucial mistakes in attack. Solé brought his team match ball, but Sugrañes made the tension rise at 14-13. It was yet again Solé who put an end to a great show, providing TRENTINO with a slight advantage ahead of the return match that will follow in two weeks in Italy.
For ASSE-LENNIK Dutch opposite Robin Overbeeke was the clear MVP of the match scoring as many as 28 points. TRENTINO could rely on Nelli, who was responsible for 17 of their points, one more than teammates Urnaut and Solé.
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