04/01/2017 21:44
AICH/DOB rally to compelling home win over French pre-favourites
2017 CEV Volleyball Cup - Men
Bleiburg, Austria, January 4, 2017. The 2017 edition of the CEV Volleyball Cup – Men stopped in Bleiburg for the first time in the current season and there was something to cheer about for the supporters of SK AICH/DOB following the outstanding performance delivered by the home team. The Austrians played above and beyond all their limits and were able to defeat French pre-favourites Arago de SETE by 3-1 (25-16, 25-20, 25-27, 25-19).
The start of the match was the best AICH/DOB could ask for since the home team rallied to a 5-2 lead. The excellent performance delivered by the home team continued also later on as the Austrian vice-champions had a five-point advantage at the first technical time-out (8-3) and later on as well (13-8). Although SETE’s serve became stronger and their defence improved as well, the Austrians managed to keep the lead at the second technical time-out, too (16-10). The French head coach Fabien Dugrip had to call for a time-out to stop that storm (21-13), but AICH/DOB were always a big step ahead (23-15). The locals could exploit every single error made by their opponents and therefore won the opening set at a canter (25-16).
AICH/DOB stretched that momentum to the early phases of the second set (8-5). As both teams put every effort in winning a rally, the audience could watch spectacular actions in defence and block. SETE put much effort in turning the tables around by putting AICH/DOB’s players under pressure (13-11), but the locals remained the leading team also at the second technical time-out (16-13). The Austrian underdogs widened their lead to 21-16 by showing an outstanding performance and finally wrapped the set up at 25-20.
Both teams came out strong at the beginning of the third set (5-4) though unforced errors occurred on both sides of the net. However, the hosts played above and beyond their limits, thus securing an 8-6 lead. The match nevertheless became extremely thrilling with a very close neck-to-neck race as the French team started setting the pace (13-13), but the home side fought back to lead 16-14. Both teams showed eager determination to win the set (20-19), AICH/DOB’s head coach Matjaz Hafner was forced twice to interrupt SETE’s flow with a time-out, but in the end the visitors emerged victorious at 27-25 to stay alive in the match.
At the beginning of the fourth set AICH/DOB got back on track and led 8-3. By putting SETE under pressure the home team could widen their advantage to six points at 12-6. The French side tried to turn the tables around, but their attempts were ineffective since AICH/DOB put a lot of pressure on their opponent taking a lot of risks from the service line (16-9). The home guys cemented their lead also later on with fast attacks and efficient defence (20-14). SETE tried their best to resist, but their rhythm was broken, so the locals’ mascot AIDO as well as the 1,000 fans in attendance at JUFA Arena could carry AICH/DOB to a fairly unexpected victory (25-19).
Click here for more info including detailed stats of the match
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