12/12/2019 23:00
Italians prevail to close CL 2nd Leg
CEV Champions League Volley 2020 - Men
Luxembourg, December 12, 2019. To close out the second leg of this men’s CEV Champions League Volley, Pool A offered two interesting matches, both including one Italian team.
Early in the night, recently crowned world champions Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA faced Jihostroj CESKE BUDEJOVICE, and later at 8:30pm, TRENTINO hosted Fenerbahce in a intense match-up that went the distance.
In the first encounter, Osmany Juantorena (top scorer with 18 points, including 7 break points) and his teammates made the best of their trip to Czech Republic, only yielding the second set and reacting really well in the third (10-3, and finally 25-13), with Jiri Kovar, once a Czech citizen, on the court from then on. The sold-out sports hall cheered as the fight went on and eventually congratulated Lube on their 3-1 victory .
The last match of this round maybe was the most exhilarating one as both contenders alternatively played great volleyball and displayed resourceful stamina to take it to the fifth. Jenia Grebennikov’s partners lost the first two sets, not being able to close them out in the money end. The Turkish side, on the other hand, were remarkably decisive at the end of each set and could count on an excellent Thibault Rossard, in all compartments. But Angelo Lorenzetti’s men showed great team spirit in the second half of the game, with substitutes bringing in all their power. In truth, the fifth set could have gone either way but the home side eventually rallied back from 0-2 down to win the match 3-2, sealed with a stunning ace from Srecko Lisinac.
Match by Match
Jihostroj CESKE BUDEJOVICE (CZE) vs Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA (ITA) 1-3 (18-25, 25-21, 13-25, 22-25)
Statements:
“We are glad we won especially as it was not an easy game for us. We definitely felt physically challenged because we played several games in a row. I liked the atmosphere here a lot and it was nice to see that the people here are following the volleyball scene.”
Kamil Rychlicki (Opposite Hitter, Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA)
“We saw the best team in the world even though I think that they were not completely physically all right. However, they put up a great fight and had awesome defence. We fought really hard for every point. We all feel that we could have played several points differently in the last set and it could have been even more interesting.”
Martin Kryštof (Libero, Jihostroj CESKE BUDEJOVICE)
TRENTINO Itas (ITA) vs Fenerbahçe HDI Sigorta ISTANBUL (TUR) 3-2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-17, 16-14)
Statements:
"We had a great match tonight performing a comeback from 0-2 to 3-2 but we should not forget what we did in the first two sets, where I was not able to give the right indications to the team. However, we must be very happy of the eventual result."
Angelo Lorenzetti (TRENTINO Itas)
“We started the match on the right foot, taking advantage of our serve. Then TRENTINO improved their attack and caused us some problems. It was a very close match but in the end this is Volleyball. Only a few points made the difference. It was wonderful playing here in Trento, surrounded by this atmosphere.”
Salvador Hidalgo Oliva (Fenerbahce HDI Sigorta ISTANBUL)
Click here for further information on CEV Champions League Volley 2020.
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