18/02/2016 22:51
Russian standout Dinamo MOSCOW leave no chance to Italian ‘Block Devils’
2016 CEV Volleyball Cup – Men
Perugia, Italy, February 18, 2016. As they performed before a crowd of about 3,300 fans, the hosts of Sir Safety-Sicoma PERUGIA tried to pose a threat to Russia’s giant Dinamo MOSCOW in their first matchup on schedule for the Challenge Round of the 2016 CEV Volleyball Cup – Men. However, Dinamo proved too much to stand even for the Italians and after a thrilling match where the hosts played to the best of their abilities, the team from Russia’s capital could celebrate a 3-0 win (25-20, 25-19, 25-22).
Dinamo MOSCOW came out with all guns blazing as their spikers set the tone of the match right from the start but the score remained close up to 8 all as the Russians made a number of mistakes from the service line. PERUGIA were able to edge ahead at 13-9 after some points signed by their Serbian-born opposite Aleksandar Atanasijevic but Dinamo did not give in and restored equality at 18-all. After that, three powerful services by Maxwell Holt restored Dinamo’s supremacy in the match and the Russian powerhouse finished the opening set at 25-20 with an ace by Ivan Zaytsev.
The second set was a carbon copy of the previous one, at least in the early stages, with a very solid performance delivered by both sides. Dinamo MOSCOW claimed a narrow lead at the first technical time-out (8-7) but the score remained tight as the respective opposites – Atanasijevic and Zaytsev – engaged in an exciting duel that moved the tables to 12-all. These two star players equally delighted the audience in attendance at PalaEvangelisti but with some more spectacular blocks Dinamo broke away leading by three points at the second technical time-out. Towards the end Dinamo MOSCOW looked just unstoppable (23-18) and the set eventually came to an end at 25-19 after two Italian errors.
Dinamo MOSCOW looked absolutely determined in the third set whereas the players of PERUGIA struggled to find the right motivation when trailing 0-2. Dinamo easily rushed to a commanding 10-5 lead but the hosts were cheered on by 3,300 fans and as a result they did not surrender, fighting back to close in at 15-14. However, the passion and big heart they showed were not enough to prevent Dinamo from securing also the third set (25-22) and with it a 3-0 victory which bodes well for the Russian side ahead of the re-match coming up in two weeks in Moscow.
“It feels very good to come back to my hometown, I have a lot of nice memories from this arena,” Ivan Zaytsev said after top scoring for Dinamo MOSCOW with 17 points. “We played many matches here at PalaEvangelisti and I especially remember a national league final with MACERATA. As for tonight, we did well, performed well right from the start and we never lost our concentration through to the end.”
Simone Buti, middle blocker of Sir Safety-Sicoma PERUGIA, commented: “We knew they are a great team but tonight we could have played better and taken more risks. However, when we did so, we ended up making a lot of mistakes.”
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