Moscow, Russia, March 21, 2017. On Tuesday night, Dinamo MOSCOW became the first team to progress to the Playoffs 6 of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men after claiming two sets from their rematch with Arkas IZMIR before cruising to a 3-0 victory (25-23, 25-22, 33-31) after they had achieved a similar result only five days ago in Turkey.

Dinamo MOSCOW and Arkas IZMIR took to the court with their best line-up – and this was not a surprise knowing how much was at stake. Dinamo had a small advantage in the first set after a mistake made by Mauricio Borges and the hosts eventually wrapped it up at 25-23 with an attack from Yury Berezhko as they out-blocked their opponents 4 to 1 in this set.

Dinamo had a more comfortable lead in the second set even though Arkas IZMIR closed in as the match progressed. After leading by four points towards the end of the set, Dinamo rallied to a 25-22 win and at this stage, the Muscovites had secured their spot in the Playoffs 6.

The third set was a much closer call – both teams played impressively but again Dinamo MOSCOW came out on top at 33-31 to seal their second 3-0 victory in as many matches with Arkas IZMIR.

Glenn Hoag, head coach of Arkas IZMIR, commented: “We knew that this match was going to be difficult, but I think we were more relaxed because the pressure was actually more on Dinamo MOSCOW since they had to qualify for the next round, especially following their victory last week. I congratulate the Russian team and wish them much success for the Playoffs 6. The last set was a long one and pretty good for us. Many of our young players performed there and learned many things, so this was a perfect experience for them.”

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