22/03/2017 20:26
Zenit KAZAN thrash Knack ROESELARE again to comfortably progress to Playoffs 6
2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League - Men
Kazan, Russia, March 22, 2017. Four-time gold medal winners Zenit KAZAN whitewashed Knack ROESELARE in the Playoffs 12 of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men for the second time in a row (3-0; 25-19, 25-16, 25-20) and did not provide any opportunity to the Belgian reigning national champions to stay alive in the race for a spot in the next stage of the competition.
At the beginning of the match, Zenit KAZAN lacked consistency and quality in reception, especially when the Belgians used their float serves, but this in no way disturbed the overall efficiency of the home side’s performance – Maxim Mikhailov and Matthew Anderson were rock-solid and killed firmly all of their attacks (25-19).
In the second set, the Tatars overwhelmed the opponent with stormy serves and performed almost flawlessly in attack. Mikhailov and Wilfredo Leon scored 13 out of the 14 attacks they combined for altogether! As a result, Zenit KAZAN stormed to a landslide 25-16 win, enough to secure their progression to the Playoffs 6.
“It was good for us to come here and compete because we played against one of the best teams in the world, actually the best team in Europe. Some of our players did not play as they are having health problems. Otherwise, everybody would join the ranks since it is a good opportunity for us to play against such a strong team. It is not a matter of disrespect or that we want to save the players’ energy for the next matches we have in our national league. We highly respect Zenit KAZAN and their coach, though if you are injured you will not take the risk of getting even worse traumas. Anyway, Zenit KAZAN are a very strong team and they deserve to qualify to the next round. As for our team, we have to concentrate on our national championship now,” said the assistant coach of Knack ROESELARE, Steven Vanmedegael.
“Knack ROESELARE have very challenging float serves that caused us some troubles. As a result, one hundred percent concentration was something that we really needed. I am happy with the victory, but, frankly speaking, I expected a more impressive performance from my players, especially from those coming from the bench,” said after the match Zenit KAZAN head coach Vladimir Alekno.
Click here for more info including detailed stats of the match
|