Volleyball Continental Leagues 2017 - 2018 Discussion Thread

[Gianlu33 4,616]

Yesss! Not a great match for Lube (very bad in really...) but at last they won

[VolleyRuller96 264]

Chaumont 2-1 Trentino 

Noliko 2-0 Novosibirsk 

 

What the heck is going on 

[Gianlu33 4,616]

1 minuto fa, VolleyRuller96 ha scritto:

Chaumont 2-1 Perugia 

Trento not Perugia Btw, shocking (and sad) result..

 

Edited March 14, 2018 by Gianlu33

[VolleyRuller96 264]

40 minutes ago, Gianlu33 said:

Trento not Perugia Btw, shocking (and sad) result..

 

Thx, corrected

 

Btw. That's surprising but not shocking to me. Chaumont proved this season they are an amazing team, even though surprisingly  they don't have (almost) any star players I personally think with a bit of luck they can reach final four, but they definitely have a problem with away games, so even if your team loses today, they still have a great chance

 

[VolleyRuller96 264]

So both Noliko and Chaumont won their games 3-2 for Chaumont and 3-0 for Noliko 

[VolleyRuller96 264]

ROAD TO KAZAN

 

PLAYOFF 12, 1st LEG RESULTS
 Halkbank Ankara 0-3 Sir Safety Perugia

(18 - 25 / 22-25 / 29-31)

•    Halkbank ANKARA had a very demanding task when playing last year’s Champions League silver medal winners PERUGIA, who had previously swept six matches in a row in Pool A. 
•    Halkbank struggled in defence whilst the visitors used their impressive blocks to record a comprehensive 3-0 victory. 
•    Students from Gazi University and namely from the Faculty of Communications attended the match as part of their ‘homework’. 
•    The ‘Block Devils’ from Perugia were the dominant force in the first set courtesy of their powerful attacks and serves. 
•    The course of the match did not change much in the second set where Halkbank struggled in reception and tried to score points through some block-outs. However, the match was a closer affair after the first technical time-out before PERUGIA eventually doubled their lead. 
•    Halkbank stepped up their efforts in the third set where they kept the score close up to 22-all. Both teams made some service errors before the longest set of the match ended in a 31-29 win for PERUGIA.
•    The Italians will have to take at least two sets from the re-match at home to secure their progression to the Playoffs 6. 

 

 

 

:BEL Noliko Maaseik 3-0 Lokomotiv Novosibirsk

 

(25-23 / 26-24 / 30-28)

• Noliko MAASEIK posted a surprising 3-0 win in their first encounter with Pool C winners Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK. Yet it was a thrilling game, with each set being decided by the closest of margins each time: 25-23, 26-24, 30-28.
• In the first, Lokomotiv’s Marcus Nilsson and local spiker Kamil Rychlicki set up a close battle until 12-all, when Jay Blankenau and Dane Mijatovic created the first little home advantage with one ace apiece: 17-14. Jelte Maan punished ‘Loko’ for a couple of poor receptions and led his team over 22-17 and then to 24-19. Sergey Savin replied fiercely, but his all-risk serve gave Noliko the first set win at their fifth set point: 25-23. 
• After Noliko’s early five point run, the hosts established a 10-7 lead, Aleksey Rodichev levelled the set at 12-each. Again, a nerve-wracking fight unfolded. Aleksandr Tkachev’s serve put the Russians in the driver’s seat at 21-23 and 23-24, but Sebastian Gevert and Rychlicki created a huge surprise by turning things around to take the set: 26-24.
• The nearly 2,000 fans got completely excited when Gevert served his team to a 15-10 advantage and his substitute Jolan Cox added a kill block for a promising four-point gap at 21-17. Yet Savin and Nilsson were determined to avoid a harsh 3-0 loss when going up 22-23. Tkachev and Savin even saved four match points. However, in a dramatic finish, Lokomotiv’s coach Plamen Konstantinov didn’t agree with the ‘no-block’ result from the challenge system. He lost his temper so badly that the first referee had no choice: red card and 30-28.
• Despite topping the charts with 21 points, Sergey Savin couldn’t crown himself the match winner. This honour went to Kamil Rychlicki, who collected 17 points.
• In the return match next Wednesday (21 March), Noliko MAASEIK will need just two sets to secure their place in the Playoffs 6.

 

 PGE Skra Belchatow 2-3  Cucine Lube Civitanova

 

(27-25 / 28-26 / 13-25 / 22-25 /10-15/)

•    A 2-0 lead in the match was not enough for Skra to edge the Italian powerhouse. 
•    It was the 10th match featuring these two teams in history, with Cucine Lube having improved their record to six wins. However, Skra have claimed three of their four victories over Cucine Lube when playing away from home – which is a good omen for them ahead of next week’s rematch in Italy. 
•    As many as 9,600 fans in attendance were full of joy after the opening two sets, where PGE Skra played close to perfection. However, the Italian champions showed great determination to come back to the match and win it in five sets.
•    PGE Skra line-up included Grzegorz Lomacz with the setter coming back from injury after over two months. He came back in style, giving his team much confidence. The distribution in the opening set was amazing as five PGE Skra players scored three or more points, while Tsvetan Sokolov (7) and Taylor Sander (5) were the only Cucine Lube players with more than one point to their name.  
•    Sander came back to the starting six of the visiting team and replaced Jiri Kovar, who had scored eight points last weekend in a Playoff match and 3-0 victory versus Wixo LPR PIACENZA.
•    Milad Ebadipour served an important ace, when the score stood at 23-23 in the first set. It was the very first match of the Iranian outside hitter in the play-off phase of the CEV Volleyball Champions League. Bartosz Bednorz, who blocked Osmany Juantorena, after another powerful serve by Mariusz Wlazly, scored the last point of the first set. It is worth mentioning that PGE Skra successfully finished 70% of their attacks in this set – with Cucine Lube registering a 59% success rate. 
•    With the score standing at 20-17 in the second set for the Italian team, it looked like the visitors were going to draw level in the match. PGE Skra moved to a one-point gap after Wlazly’s ace, and claimed a set point after Sokolov and Dragan Stankovic attacked out of bounds. Sokolov was also the one who sent the ball into the net, thus making it 2-0 for PGE Skra. The hosts out-blocked their opponents 5 to 2 in this set. 
•    After two very tight sets, where the score was very close from the beginning until the end, the third was a total domination by the Italian champions, led by Sokolov, who killed five out of six attacks. Four aces and four blocks meant an easy win (25-13) for Cucine Lube.
•    The players from CIVITANOVA took an early lead (4-1) in the fourth set. After a series of powerful serves by Osmany Juantorena (only eight points in the previous sets) and Stankovic’s attack, Skra coach Roberto Piazza had to take a time-out. There was no moment in that set when the nearly 10,000 fans in Atlas Arena may have had hope for a better result for the home team. Sokolov kept on scoring and setter Micah Christenson was playing better and better with every ball and in every aspect of the game. 
•    A lot of controversy came when the score stood at 9-12 in the tiebreak and the referees accepted the challenge of the home team, claiming there was a net touch. The score moved from 9-13 to 10-12, but Giampaolo Medei’s team did not lose focus and closed the match with an ace of Sokolov and a block on Wlazly. 
•    Tsvetan Sokolov was the best scorer of the match with 27 points (22/34 killed attacks). Juantorena added 14 and Stankovic 12 for the Italian team, while Mariusz Wlazly scored 19, Srecko Lisinac 17 and Bartosz Bednorz 16 times for the home side.

 

 Chaumont VB 52 Haute Marne 3-2 Trentino Diatec 

(17-25 / 25-22 / 25-20 / 21-25 / 15-10 )

 

•    Home star Stéphen Boyer – the second best scorer of the 4th Round with as many as 130 points – could not play because of injury. 
•    His substitute Wassim Ben Tara delivered a superb performance, as he scored 18 points, and libero Jérémie Mouiel did extremely well too. 
•    TRENTINO paid a high price for their many service errors (8) in the third set – whilst their Brazilian middle blocker Eder Carbonera had stood out in that same aspect of the game in the first set, recording two aces. 
•    There was a great atmosphere in Reims, even though ‘only’ 1,200 fans attended the match. 

 

 

 Berlin Recycling Volleys 2-3  VFB Friedrichshafen

(22-25 / 25-23 / 23-25 / 25-18 / 12-15)

 

    As many as 6,307 fans came to Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin to witness this much-anticipated German derby. 
•    VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN claimed an early 8-6 lead in the opening set and broke away after the first technical time-out courtesy of the service mistakes made by the home side. The BR Volleys fought as much as they could keeping their deficit as tiny as possible but the Häfler eventually won the first set 25-22.  
•    The hosts set the pace of the game in the early stages of the second set but their opponents put up a fight before a service error by Tomas Kocian sealed a 25-23 win for the BR Volleys. 
•    The third set was an extremely close affair all the way through with the team from the Lake of Constance having the upper hand this time around on a service error made by Pierre Pujol. 
•    The BR Volleys broke away after the first technical timeout of the fourth set (7-8, 12-9, 16-13) but the visitors attempted a comeback. This did not materialise, and a service series by Adam White paved the way towards a comprehensive 25-18 victory for the BR Volleys. 
•    The two teams completed their side-out all the way to 12-all in the tiebreak but a few mistakes by the hosts paved the way with gold for VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, who eventually sealed a 3-2 victory. 

 

 Jastrzebski Wegiel 1-3  Zaksa Kedzierzyn Kozle
 

(19-25 / 19-25 / 25-21 / 35-33)

 

•    Maurice Torres was the best scorer for Zaksa with a personal tally of 25 points. Rising star Maciej Muzaj scored 20 times for the home side. 
•    Zaksa claimed their 11th straight victory over JASTRZEBSKI across all – domestic and international – competitions. 
•    In the third set, JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel head coach Ferdinando De Giorgi changed the main star of the team, Salvador Hidalgo Oliva and his alternate Rodrigo Quiroga did a good job, especially in reception.
•    The hosts had as many as six set points in the fourth set, but Zaksa cashed their fifth match ball to finish the game 3-1 in their favour.  
•    The truly dramatic fourth set lasted for almost 40 minutes.
 

[VolleyRuller96 264]

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS

Play-off 12, 1st Leg
 

 Noliko Maaseik 3:0  Lokomotiv Novosibirsk
 PGE Skra Belchatow 2:3  Cucine Lube Civitanova
 Chaumont Volleyball 52 Haute Marne 3:2  Trentino Diatec

 Jastrzebski Wegiel 1:3  Zaksa Kedzierzyn Kozle
 Berlin Recycling Volleys 2:3  VFB Friedrichshafen

 

SEMIFINALS, LEG 1

 Gazprom Urga Surgut 0:3  Olympiacos Piraeus

 Bunge Ravenna 0:3  Maliye Milli Piyango Ankara

[VolleyRuller96 264]

“Flying” Olympiacos claim 3-0 victory in first round of #CEVChallengeCupM semis, Maliye Piyango to surprise Bunge RAVENNA 

Luxembourg, March 14, 2018. The Greek power of Olympiacos PIRAEUS opened the first round of the semi-finals of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup - Men with a great success vs. their well-known opponent of Gazprom-Ugra SURGUT.  The players around head coach Fernando Muñoz Benitez were “on fire” and took a 3-0 win, not allowing the home team to take control of the game at any time. Todor Aleksiev from Olympiacos PIRAEUS, who was part of Gazprom-Ugra SURGUT for a number of years, and even the captain of that team, was the best scorer of the match with 14 points to his name. In the other semi-final match, played later today in Ravenna, Maliye Piyango SK ANKARA surprised their opponents from Bunge RAVENNA. The Italian team lost 0-3 and will have to claim an obligatory victory in the upcoming round next week, if they want to proceed to a Golden Set. The visiting team performed very well in the different aspects of the game. It took them only 82 minutes to close this matchup with a deserved win.

Gazprom-Ugra SURGUT (RUS) vs. Olympiacos PIRAEUS (GRE) 0-3 (21-25, 21-25, 19-25)

•    Gazprom-Ugra SURGUT did not perform well in attack and made also a lot of unforced mistakes. On the other hand, Olympiacos PIRAEUS took control of the action, being more stable in the different aspects of the game. 
•    The first two sets unfolded quite the same way, with the score being almost always in favour of Olympiacos. Only in the end of these sets the players of Gazprom-Ugra showed some more fighting spirit and brought the intrigue back, but Olympiacos seemed to be very well concentrated. The Greek side took advantage of the unforced mistakes made by their opponents and closed these two parts in their favour.
•    The Russian outside-spiker Vladimir Ivanov was forced to leave the court because of an injury he suffered from. He was playing well in the first set, realising five out of 10 attacks. After he left the game, it was difficult for the Russian side to get back into the right rhythm.
•    The hosts tried to make it difficult for Todor Aleksiev – a player well-known in Surgut, but Aleksiev was able to cope with that, showing the best of his skills, making decisive performances in  the end of each set. 
•    Gazprom-Ugra tried to find a proper response to the situation in the match, making a number of changes (changing the positions of some players, including changing the setter and some outside hitters, but this wasn’t enough for the home squad to come back in the game). On the other hand, Olympiacos were playing all the match with the same six players, making tactical double changes in the end of each set. 

Fernando Muñoz Benitez, head coach of Olympiacos PIRAEUS: “We studied our lesson very well, meaning that we have watched and analysed the games of Gazprom-Ugra in the last seasons.  We were very concentrated today, and that's why we have claimed such a result. We achieved the result we were searching for in Surgut, but the fight does not end here. The Russian team is good, both technically and physically and in the second game we need to be very careful.”
 
Todor Aleksiev, player of Olympiacos PIRAEUS: “I don’t expect an easy game at home. Maybe it would be even harder for us to play at home, because we have a lot of fans, who, of course, will be supporting us, but we will try not to disappoint them, so there might be a bit of tension. On the other hand, the other team has nothing to lose and could play in a very relaxed way. So, it could turn out that the upcoming match may be a difficult one for us, so we need to stay focused and play the same way as we did today.”
 
Ruslan Zhbankov, assistant coach of Gazprom-Ugra: “We were disastrous in terms of effectiveness of our attack. We completely failed today, while the opponent attacked in the best possible way. Olympiacos is a very well-organised team, highly qualified and very balanced - almost all of their players play in the national teams of their respective countries. Today, the opponent was stronger. For us this is a shocking result, but we will try to get back on our feet and get ready for a battle in the next match.”

Bunge RAVENNA (ITA) vs. Maliye Piyango SK ANKARA (TUR) 0-3 (21-25, 19-25, 23-25)

•    The key player for the team of Maliye Piyango SK ANKARA in the first set was Oliver Venno, who scored seven points. His performance and the nine mistakes made by the hosts (three by Paul Buchegger) were decisive for the eventual outcome in this part of match. 
•    In the second set the visiting team made three blocks, while the Italian side put on their record only one. Precisely the performance at blocking made the difference between the two teams, so that Maliye Piyango won this set as well. Venno with his two aces and seven points, plus the good performance of Mihajlo Stankovic (57% in attack) were crucial in this set.  
•    In the third set Bunge RAVENNA started better. The hosts took the lead by 11-6, but Maliye Piyango found a proper way to react – Venno was leading his team towards the final victory, scoring nine more times and finishing the match with 23 points in total. 
•    Maliye were able to record nine blocks, compared to only one for Bunge.  In addition, Bunge RAVENNA made too many mistakes (24 vs. 19 for Maliye), which eventually were one of the reasons for the Italians' loss. 
•    It was a good match for Stankovic who put three blocks next to his name. Kemal Kayhan also played a good match, having recorded an 83% success rate in attack.  
•    It was a bad night for Bunge RAVENNA – Cristian Poglajen registered 56% in attack and 17 points in total.

Fabio Soli, head coach of Bunge RAVENNA: “Unfortunately, we did not play with the same conviction of our opponents, who took to the court with great determination and desire to win. We made too many mistakes, giving a lot of points to the Turks, who instead gave us a lesson on how similar matches should be played. There is still one match to be played, we must believe we can do it, because we have the right qualities and we will aim at winning a Golden Set in Ankara.”

Gjorgi Gjorgiev, player of Maliye Piyango SK ANKARA: “As a setter, I personally “studied” Bunge RAVENNA quite a lot and I think that tonight we played  tactically better than them. We knew they have a good service, so we tried our best in reception and we succeeded. To be honest, we did not expect to win 3-0 and we were prepared to fight more. Winning the CEV Challenge Cup is one of our aims, but we weren’t stressed about that. We try to take it step by step in every round of the competition.”

[VolleyRuller96 264]

So outside of Europe, a few hours ago  Al Ahly became the Women's Club Champions of Africa 

 

[VolleyRuller96 264]

Some Russian players claim this points was political as a "western world" retaliation against what Russia supposedly did in the U.K.

 

Personally I would not go as far but the action of the referee was... controversial, to say least.