Volleyball Continental Leagues 2017 - 2018 Discussion Thread

[VolleyRuller96 264]

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS

Round 1/32 Final, 2nd Leg
Maccabi Tel Aviv 3:2 Barkom-Kazhany Lviv

Qualified to next Round:
Barkom-Kazhany Lviv

 

2nd Round, 2nd Leg
Union Raiffeisen Waldviertel 3:0 Spartak Myjava (GOLDEN SET 15:13)
Nea Salamina Famagusta 1-3 Hapoel Kfar Saba
 

Qualified to Next Round:
Union Raiffeisen Waldviertel
Hapoel Kfar Saba

[VolleyRuller96 264]

TODAY'S SCHEDULE

Round 1/32, Leg 2

Mladost Brcko - Hapoel Mate-Asher Akko

 

2nd Round, 2nd Leg

Olympiacos Piraeus - Inegol Beledyie Bursa

Tricolorul MVP Ploiesti - UC Lausanne

Remat Zalau - Benfica Lisboa
Levski Sofia - VC Strassen

Apoel Nicosia - Lokomotiv Baku

VKP Bystrina SPU Nitra - Fino Kaposvar
Gentofte Volley - BK Tromso
Forde VBK - Viking Bergen

 

Watch games at : https://www.laola1.tv/en-int/channel/volleyball

 

 

 

[VolleyRuller96 264]

TODAY'S RESULTS

Round 1/32, Leg 2

Mladost Brcko 0:3 Hapoel Mate-Asher Akko

Qualified to next Round:

Hapoel Mate-Asher Akko

 

2nd Round, 2nd Leg

Olympiacos Piraeus 1:3 Inegol Beledyie Bursa (Golden Set 15:13)

Tricolorul MVP Ploiesti 3:2 UC Lausanne

Remat Zalau 2:3 Benfica Lisboa
Levski Sofia 3:0 VC Strassen

Apoel Nicosia 3:1 Lokomotiv Baku (Golden Set 11:15)

VKP Bystrina SPU Nitra 3:0 Fino Kaposvar
Gentofte Volley 3:0 BK Tromso
Forde VBK 1:3 Viking Bergen

 

Qualified to next Round:

Olympiacos Piraeus

UC Lausanne
Benfica Lisboa
Levski Sofua
Lokomotiv Baku
VKP Bystrina SPU Nitra
Gentofte Volley
Viking Bergen

[VolleyRuller96 264]

TODAY'S SCHEDULE

Round 1/32, 2nd Leg

Jedinstvo Bemax Bjelo Polje - MOK Rijeka

KV Luboteni Ferizaj - Drasma Dynamo Apeldoorn

 

2nd Round, 2nd Leg

Volejbal Brno - Mladost Ribola Kastela

 

Watch games at : https://www.laola1.tv/en-int/channel/volleyball

 

 

[VolleyRuller96 264]

TODAY'S RESULTS

Round 1/32, 2nd Leg

Jedinstvo Bemax Bjelo Polje 3:1 MOK Rijeka

KV Luboteni Ferizaj 0:3 Drasma Dynamo Apeldoorn

 

Qualified to next Round:

Jedinstvo Bemax Bjelo Polje

Drasma Dynamo Apeldoorn

 

2nd Round, 2nd Leg

Volejbal Brno 3;1 Mladost Ribola Kastela

 

Qualified to next Round:

Volejbal Brno

 

 

[VolleyRuller96 264]

TODAY'S SCHEDULE

 

 

LEG 1

 

GROUP B
Ford Store Levoranta Sastamala - PAOK Thesalloniki

 

GROUP E

Knack Roeselare - Trentino Diatec

 

Round 1/16, 1st leg.

 

SCM U Craiova - Ziraat Bankasi Ankara

 

 

Round 1/16, 1st leg

 

Union Reiffeisen Waldviertel - Biogas Volley Nafaels

Hapoel Kfar Saba - Montana

Benfica Lisboa - UVC Holding Graz

 

 

Watch games at : https://www.laola1.tv/en-int/channel/volleyball

 

 

 

[VolleyRuller96 264]

Ten things you need to know before the start of the #CLVolleyM League Round

 

Luxembourg, December 4, 2017. It is finally time to enjoy the group stage of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men with the first matchups coming up this week following the Drawing of Lots held this past November 17 in Moscow! There is much to look forward to as Europe’s top teams take to the court in an effort to secure their progression to the Playoffs, with the world’s best Volleyball players set to provide fans with exciting actions and many moments to remember!

However, before we start proceedings, let us review a few interesting facts and ask a number of questions ahead of the League Round… It will be interesting to figure out whether you did know most of these facts already or these are completely ‘new’ even to the die-hardest Volleyball fans!

1.    Will Russia add another chapter to their success story in the men’s competition? Russian teams have swept all titles since 2012 – courtesy of Zenit KAZAN (2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017), Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK (2013) and Belogorie BELGOROD (2014).

2.    Will Zenit KAZAN defend their title? If they manage to do so, they would seal a record sixth crown to go with those they won in 2008, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

3.    No team has claimed the men’s Champions League title for four years in a row – the current record stands at three straight shared by Italy’s TRENTINO Diatec (2009, 2010 and 2011) and Russia’s Zenit KAZAN (2015, 2016 and 2017).

4.    Since the very first edition of the CEV Volleyball Champions League in the 2000-2001 season, teams from four countries (Russia, Italy, France and Germany) have claimed the top honours. Teams from Poland and Turkey are likely to play a role in the quest for the 2018 title.

5.    Last year Zenit KAZAN dropped only two sets on their way to the continental throne. As they lost one set in their away match with VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, the Belgian coach of the German team, Vital Heynen, kept his promise and paid a beer to each one of the 2,355 home fans in attendance in order to celebrate such an accomplishment. Will the star-studded roster of Zenit KAZAN be able to improve on such an astounding performance this year?

6.    Osmany Juantorena and Wilfredo Leon have quite something in common – other than their Cuban roots and impressive resumes. They both received the award for the MVP of the Final Four two times in a row – they did so in 2010-2011 and 2015-2016, respectively. Juantorena and Leon will be chasing another such distinction this year when playing for Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA and Zenit KAZAN.

7.    The ‘Hammerschorsch’ is back! György Grozer has returned to the European stage for the first time after spending two seasons in Asia – first in Korea and after that, in China. Grozer was instrumental to Germany’s winning a historic silver medal at the 2017 EuroVolley in Poland and while playing for Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK, he will be hoping to add a second CL crown to his resume after standing on top of the podium in 2014 with Belogorie BELGOROD.

8.    Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA are the first-ever men’s team from Finland – and any Nordic country – to compete in the group stage of the CEV Volleyball Champions League. LP SALO had achieved the same feat in the women’s competition back in the 2014-2015 season.

9.    France’s reigning national champions CHAUMONT VB 52 Haute Marne are making their debut in the competition – after crowning their European Cups premiere last season with a historic silver medal they took after losing to Russia’s Fakel NOVY URENGOY in the finals of the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup. Their star opposite hitter, Stephen Boyer, will make his CL debut after top scoring in the last edition of the FIVB World League.  

10.    The ‘Match of the Week’ from the first leg will be an Italian derby featuring Sir Colussi Sicoma PERUGIA and Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA – a remake of last year’s semi-final which PERUGIA eventually won at the tiebreak.

[VolleyRuller96 264]

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS

 

LEG 1

 

GROUP B

Ford Store Levoranta Sastamala 3:2 PAOK Thesalloniki

 

GROUP E

Noliko Maaseik 1:3    Trentino Diatec

 

 

ROUND 1/16, 1ST LEG

 

SCM U Craiova 0:3 Ziraat Bankasi Ankara

 

ROUND 1/16, 1st  LEG

 

Union Reifeissen Volley Waldviertel 1:3 Biogas Nafaels

Hapoel Kfar Saba 1:3 Montana

Benfica Lisboa 3:0 UVC Holding Graz

[VolleyRuller96 264]

SASTAMALA pull out dramatic win to crown League Round debut with success

 

Luxembourg, December 5, 2017. Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA made history on Tuesday night as they started their first ever campaign in the group stage of the CEV Volleyball Champions League with a dramatic 3-2 victory over PAOK THESSALONIKI – thus crowning with success their historic debut in the pool phase of Europe’s elite club competition. The Finns came back from 1-2 to pull out a tiebreak win much to the delight of more than 2,500 fans in attendance at Elenia Areena in Hämeenlinna. In the other match of the night, three-time CL gold medal winners TRENTINO Diatec cruised to a 3-1 away victory in their first Pool E fixture with Noliko MAASEIK of Belgium.

Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA (FIN) vs. PAOK THESSALONIKI (GRE) 3-2 (25-19, 27-29, 33-35, 25-23, 15-11)

•    It was the first ever match for a men’s team from Finland in the group stage of the CEV Volleyball Champions League – and it ended with their first ever victory!
•    The match lasted almost three hours with 242 rallies needed to determine the eventual winners.
•    It was a great fight between two outside hitters with Urpo Sivula scoring 28 times for Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA and Ramon Martinez Gion piling up 31 points for PAOK.
•    PAOK THESSALONIKI claimed the second set 29-27 after Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA had two set balls and the visitors did the same in the third after converting their eighth chance to make it 2-1 in their favour after fending off three set balls for the home side.
•    As many as 2,584 fans attended the match played at Elenia Areena in Hämeenlinna. Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA will play their next home matches in Vantaa and Turku.

Sami Kurttila, head coach of Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA: “It was a great night in front of this great home crowd. This is the first victory for many of us in the group stage of the CEV Champions League. We have been getting up from hard situations before, so we did it once more tonight. I am very proud of this team. It was a good start.”

Daniele Ricci, head coach of PAOK THESSALONIKI: “For the fans it was a good match, but not for us. We did not play so good. The home team fought well. We made too many mistakes today. We had an opportunity to win this match in the fourth set. The net was not our friend today.”

Ramon Martinez Gion, player of PAOK THESSALONIKI: “Personally, I feel good. Now I play in a famous club and I am really motivated.”

Noliko MAASEIK (BEL) vs. TRENTINO Diatec (ITA) 1-3 (17-25, 23-25, 25-23, 17-25)

•    With two kill-blocks in a row, Australian Aidan Zingel opened a middle-blockers’ party for TRENTINO Diatec. Opposite Renee Teppan added another five points to cruise past Noliko MAASEIK in the opening set (9-5, 18-11 and 25-17).
•    The locals took the upper hand in set two, going 8-4 up thanks to an ace by Timo Tammemaa. Only at 16-15, Luca Vettori and friends took control. Setter Simone Giannelli’s block for 23-20 crushed Noliko’s last hopes (25-23).
•    Surprise in the third set, when Tammemaa first turned TRENTINO’s comfortable five-point lead from 8-13 into 16-15. What was more, after trailing 20-22, with the help of Jolan Cox and Jelte Maan, Noliko MAASEIK grabbed the three-set victory out of TRENTINO’s hands (25-23).
•    Coach Angelo Lorenzetti saw his team regroup in the fourth set, and this time Filippo Lanza only confirmed their 14-9 early lead for an eventual 25-17 win, thus taking their first three points back to Trento.
•    On both sides, the Estonian players excelled. Renee Teppan topped the charts with 19 points for TRENTINO, on the Belgian side Timo Tammemaa fell only three points short to teammates Nicolas Bruno and Jelte Maan, who scored 12 each.


The star setter of TRENTINO Diatec, Simone Giannelli firing up his teammates

Dane Mijatovic, player of Noliko MAASEIK: “In the first two sets, we didn’t feel confident enough to reach our best level.”

Joel Banks, coach of Noliko MAASEIK: “I’m really proud of my guys, since many of them have no experience on this Champions League level. I am glad they were rewarded for their fighting spirit with the victory in the third set. I consider this game as a stepping stone for the rest of the season.”

Aidan Zingel, player of TRENTINO Diatec: “I am glad with this victory, especially since it is my very first game in the CEV Champions League. We were the favourites and we felt the pressure, moreover MAASEIK played really well in the second and third sets. But it’s excellent that we came away from this very difficult match with a precious victory.”

[VolleyRuller96 264]

TODAY'S SCHEDULE

 

LEG 1

 

GROUP A

Sir Colussii Safety  Perugia - Cucine Lube Civitanova

 

GROUP C

 

PGE Skra Bełchatów - Chaumont VolleyBall 52 Haute Marne

 

GROUP D

 

Spacer's Toulouse - Zenit Kazan

Jastrzębski Węgiel - Berlin Recycling Volleys

 

GROUP E

 

Arkas Izmir - Zaksa Kędzierzyn Koźle

 

 

ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG

 

OK Novi Pazar - ACH Volley Ljubljana

Calcit Kamnik - GFC Ajaccio VB

Volley Amriswil - Omonia Nicosia

Barkom-Kazhany Lviv - Vojvodina NS SEME Novi Sad

SWD Powervolleys Duren - Abiant Lycurgus Groningen

Jedinstvo Bjelo Polje - Posojilnica AICH/DOB

Montpellier UC - United Volleys Rhein Main

Ribnica Kraljevo - Calzedonia Verona

 

ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG

: Penzugyor Budapest - Gazprom-Urga Surgut

Levski Sofia -  Orion Doetinchen 

Mladost Zagreb - CEZ Karlovarsko

Pafiakos Pakos - Parnu VK

Olympiacos Piraeus - Tours VB

Lausanne UC - Stroitel Minsk

Viking Bergen - Fonikas Syros

KDS Sport Kosice - CSA Steaua Bucuresti

Volejbal Brno - Lokomotiv Kharkiv

Gentofte Volley - Bunge Ravenna

 

 

Watch games at : https://www.laola1.tv/en-int/channel/volleyball