02/03/2016 21:09
Dinamo MOSCOW come from behind to claim golden set win over PERUGIA, qualify for CEV Cup semis
2016 CEV Volleyball Cup - Men
Moscow, Russia, March 2, 2016. A real drama unfolded on Wednesday night in the Russian capital where Dinamo MOSCOW first lost 1-3 the re-match with Italy’s Sir Safety-Sicoma PERUGIA (21-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-25) on schedule for the Challenge Round of the 2016 CEV Volleyball Cup – Men before coming back from 9-12 down in the golden set that followed and secure with a 15-13 win their progression to the semis of Europe’s second most prestigious club competition. In the next round Dinamo will go for an all-Russian derby with Gazprom-Ugra SURGUT as the Muscovites are trying to retain the crown they claimed last year.
3,500 fans attended this dramatic and entertaining match in Moscow where both teams lined up their top players in their respective starting sixes. PERUGIA set the pace for most of the opening set and brought it to an end at 25-21 in their favour. The hosts did not seem able to keep the pace of their opponent also in the second set which ended in a pretty dominant 25-18 win for PERUGIA following an attack by their American middle blocker Aaron Russell. The third set was a much closer affair and in the end Dinamo MOSCOW were able to hold on a slim margin to close it at 25-23. The fourth set was one-sided with middle blocker Simone Buti standing behind the service line for eight rallies in a row as the Italians imposed their rule for a compelling 25-15 win.
Since Dinamo MOSCOW had claimed the previous match in Italy in three sets, a golden set was to be played. The visitors set the pace right from the off in the golden set as well but things changed by the score of 12-10 for PERUGIA as Yury Berezhko (pictured, #9) went to serve for Dinamo. The Russians scored four points in a row and claimed their first match ball at 14-12. PERUGIA did not surrender and closed in at 14-13 before a service mistake by their middle blocker Emanuele Birarelli put an end to the match at 15-13 for Dinamo. The Serbian star of PERUGIA, opposite Aleksandar Atanasijevic, top scored with 25 points.
Russian star Denis Biryukov said after the match: “It was a very difficult situation and we knew already in advance that PERUGIA were not going to surrender and make things easy for us. They served very strong and fast and this caused many problems to us. It was also not easy to finish the rallies as we often had to stand the opposition brought by a solid three-man block. We still had enough energy left and could control our emotions in the golden set, so that in the end we won.”
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