Volleyball Continental Leagues 2017 - 2018 Discussion Thread

[VolleyRuller96 264]

Skra 

[VolleyRuller96 264]

TODAY'S RESULTS

 

LEG 1

 

GROUP A

Sir Colussii Safety  Perugia 3:2 Cucine Lube Civitanova

 

GROUP C

 

PGE Skra Bełchatów 1:3 Chaumont VolleyBall 52 Haute Marne

 

GROUP D

 

Spacer's Toulouse 1:3 Zenit Kazan

Jastrzębski Węgiel 3:0 Berlin Recycling Volleys

 

GROUP E

 

Arkas Izmir 0:3 Zaksa Kędzierzyn Koźle

 

 

ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG

 

OK Novi Pazar 2:3 ACH Volley Ljubljana

Calcit Kamnik 3:2 GFC Ajaccio VB

Volley Amriswil 3:0  Omonia Nicosia

Barkom-Kazhany Lviv 0:3  Vojvodina NS SEME Novi Sad

SWD Powervolleys Duren 3:0 Abiant Lycurgus Groningen

Jedinstvo Bjelo Polje 3:0 Posojilnica AICH/DOB

Montpellier UC 2:3 United Volleys Rhein Main

Ribnica Kraljevo 0:3 Calzedonia Verona

 

ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG

: Penzugyor Budapest 0:3 Gazprom-Urga Surgut

Levski Sofia 3:1  Orion Doetinchen 

Mladost Zagreb 2:3 CEZ Karlovarsko

Pafiakos Pakos 1:3 Parnu VK

Olympiacos Piraeus 3:0 Tours VB

Lausanne UC 3:2 Stroitel Minsk

Viking Bergen 0:3 Fonikas Syros

KDS Sport Kosice 0:3 CSA Steaua Bucuresti

Volejbal Brno 3:0  Lokomotiv Kharkiv

Gentofte Volley 0:3 Bunge Ravenna

[VolleyRuller96 264]

‘Block Devils’ claim remake of 2017 semi-final in dramatic ‘Match of the Week’

 

Luxembourg, December 6, 2017. The eagerly anticipated Italian derby featuring Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA and Sir Colussi Sicoma PERUGIA lived up to the expectations with the ‘Match of the Week’ producing a real drama – and ending in a come-from-behind victory for the ‘Block Devils’ of PERUGIA in a replay of the 2017 semi-final. Zenit KAZAN surprisingly lost one set to rookies Spacer’s TOULOUSE VB but eventually swept the following three to start their quest for a fourth straight CEV Volleyball Champions League crown in style. Newcomers CHAUMONT VB 52 Haute Marne produced the sensation of the night with their 3-1 away victory over PGE Skra BELCHATOW but JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel promptly restored Poland’s honour as they stormed to a 3-0 home victory over the BR Volleys. Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE pulled out a 3-0 victory over Arkas IZMIR to open the second night of play in the group stage of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men. The visitors from Poland claimed three almost equally close sets to take the top spot in the current standing of Pool E.

Sir Colussi Sicoma PERUGIA (ITA) vs. Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA (ITA) 3-2 (28-30, 20-25, 25-23, 25-19, 15-9)

•    In the first set, PERUGIA had an extraordinary winning streak thanks to Atanasijevic. During the second set, Atanasjievic scored three times in a row, including an ace measured at 119 km/h.
•    Cucine Lube changed the course of the game in the second set moving the score from 13-16 to 21-17 in their favour.
•    In the third set, Atanasijevic scored three consecutive aces, finishing this section of the game with 10 points of his own and a 90% success rate in attack.
•    PERUGIA won the fourth set without making any mistakes in attack.
•    MVP Atanasijevic scored 34 points, with a 67% rate of successful attacks.



Aleksandar Atanasijevic, player of Sir Colussi Sicoma PERUGIA: “This evening we demonstrated our character, we showed that we are a big team and that we can play as a real collective. This win is extremely important for us because it allows us to keep working with the right spirit and focus. We will have a long way to go in this competition, but we are determined to achieve further success and we want to win again.”

Giampaolo Medei, head coach of Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA: “This was an extremely important match. We had to show more determination and concentration. It is important to maintain our concentration also during the second part of a match. This evening we paid a high price as we failed to do so and because of our own mistakes. All of my congratulations to PERUGIA.”

PGE Skra BELCHATOW (POL) vs. CHAUMONT VB 52 Haute Marne (FRA) 1-3 (25-19, 18-25, 19-25, 27-29)

•    The clear favourite of this game eventually lost it despite winning the opening set in emphatic style. The French rookies making their first ever appearance in the CEV Champions League showed great determination and they caught a perfect start to their campaign in the very competitive Pool C.
•    The match reached its climax in the fourth set, when Stephen Boyer failed to cash a match point for the visitors and the challenge after the next rally resulted in a set point for PGE Skra. Boyer finished a difficult point and it was the last chance for PGE Skra to come back into the game. The last point for the visitors came from a great serve of Javier Augusto Gonzalez Panton.
•    The Hala Energia in Bełchatów serves as the venue for Skra’s Champions League home matches only from time to time, as the Polish powerhouse usually play their most important games in Atlas Arena in Łódź, some 50 km from Bełchatów. However, it is worth mentioning that the last team to claim an away victory at Hala Energia was Germany’s VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN back in 2008 and PGE Skra hold an impressive record of 13 wins out of 17 matches contested in this stadium. The reigning French champions are the fifth side to claim a victory there.
•    Powerful serves were a major asset for CHAUMONT VB 52 and the best example came at the end of the third set, when Nikola Mijailovic closed that part with two aces in a row, and the final point of the match scored by Gonzalez Panton.
•    PGE Skra made 31 mistakes in this match, including 24 serves.
•    Stephen Boyer was the true leader of the French champions, killing 8 out of 12 attacks in the second set, 6/8 in the third plus 10/12 in the last. The 21-year old opposite scored 33 points in Bełchatów to crown his CEV Volleyball Champions League debut with success. The rising star of European Volleyball killed 65% of his attacks (26/40) and added four blocks and three aces to his personal tally.

Silvano Prandi, head coach of CHAUMONT VB 52: “I could not recognise my team in the first set, we played very negative. Fortunately, in the next sets we started to play our Volleyball – it is not the greatest in the world, but it is a really good one. We are a decent team and showed how to fight for every ball and how to defend. The serves? The serve is an artwork; you cannot know in advance that you will serve perfectly. We practiced a lot and it paid off. We deserved to win.”
 
Mariusz Wlazly, team caprain of PGE Skra: “Their powerful serves helped them come back into the match after they lost the first set. Unfortunately, our serves were one level or two lower than usual and that is why the result is like that. We are disappointed but we will fight in every match of this difficult Pool C.”

Spacer’s TOULOUSE VB (FRA) vs. Zenit KAZAN (RUS) 1-3 (31-29, 20-25, 23-25, 19-25)

•    Spacer’s TOULOUSE VB caused a real sensation by taking the first set of their matchup with Zenit KAZAN (31-29) on a block of their rising star, 19-year-old middle blocker Barthélémy Chinenyeze.
•    Zenit KAZAN recovered from this early setback and swept three sets in a row to claim their first victory in this year’s Champions League where they are vying for a record sixth title and fourth in a row.
•    Zenit KAZAN were missing two of their star players, Maxim Mikhailov and Wilfredo Leon.

 

JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel (POL) vs. BERLIN Recycling Volleys (GER) 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 26-24)

•    As many as 1,700 people came together for this eagerly anticipated match.
•    A service winner by Salvador Hidalgo Oliva closed the match in favour of the home side.
•    The Cuban outside hitter with German passport was also the best scorer of the match with 17 points.
•    In the third set, JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel came back from 13-18 to win it 26-24.
•    Paul Carroll and Steven Marshall were the best scorers for the BERLIN Recycling Volleys with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

 

 

Salvador Hidalgo Oliva, outside hitter of JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel: “It was a dream coming true. Actually, it was my first game in the group phase of the Champions League. I was very excited, because I played against my former team. I know these guys very well, and a lot of them are my friends. I have no words to describe how I feel right now.”

Luke Perry, libero of the BR Volleys: “We are really disappointed with how we played. We give credit to JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel, but we are not satisfied with our performance. They took all the chances. On the other hand, we couldn’t take our chances in the right moments.”

Arkas IZMIR (TUR) vs. Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE (POL) 0-3 (23-25, 28-30, 23-25)

•    Arkas IZMIR claimed an early lead in the first set (8-7), which they kept for most of the time (16-15) before Zaksa edged ahead towards the end (25-23).
•    With the help of their Cuban opposite Michael Sanchez Bozhulev, Arkas put up a fight in the second set as well. The hosts claimed a 16-13 lead at the second technical time-out and had a couple of set balls before Zaksa emerged victorious at 30-28.
•    Arkas attempted a comeback in the third set but Zaksa controlled the game from start to finish (8-5, 16-11, 25-23) with the help of their outstanding libero Pawel Zatorski.
•    It was a relatively close match but Zaksa used their experience to storm to a 3-0 victory.
•    Michael Sanchez Bozhulev top scored with 16 points for Arkas IZMIR as Sam Deroo scored 15 times for the visitors.
 

Glenn Hoag, head coach of Arkas IZMIR: “We played ok certain times but we have many young players and when you make several execution errors as we did, it is hard to play against a team like Zaksa. We need to take our lesson from this loss. We will focus on the next match against Noliko MAASEIK.”

Edited December 7, 2017 by VolleyRuller96

[VolleyRuller96 264]

TODAY'S SCHEDULE
 

 

LEG 1

GROUP A

 

Fenerbahce Istanbul - Knack Roeselare

 

GROUP B

VFB Friedrichshafen - Halkbank Ankara

 

GROUP C

 

Lokomotiv Novosibirsk - Dinamo Moscow

 

ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG

 

CSKA Sofia - Belogorie Belgorod

Hapoel Mate-Asher Akko - Jihostroi Ceske Budeiovice

Kladno Volejbal - Arcada Galati

Perungan Pojat Rovaniemi - Asseco Resovia Rzeszów

Drasma Dynamoo Apeldoorn - Lindemans Aalst
Hurrikaani Loima -   Shakhtor Soligorsk
Dukla Liberec - Neftochimic 2010 Burgas

 

ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG

 

Volley Schonenwerd - Par Ky Menen

Lokomotiv Baku - Fonte Bastardo  Azores

VKP Bystrina SPU Nitra -   Maliye Piyango SK Ankara

 

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

 

[VolleyRuller96 264]

 

[VolleyRuller96 264]

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
 

LEG 1

GROUP A

 

Fenerbahce Istanbul 1:3 Knack Roeselare

GROUP B

VFB Friedrichshafen 3:1 Halkbank Ankara

 

GROUP C
 

Lokomotiv Novosibirsk 3:0  Dinamo Moscow

 

 

ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG

 

CSKA Sofia 0:3 Belogorie Belgorod

Hapoel Mate Asher Akko 2:3 Jihostroi Ceske Budejovice

Kladno Volejbal 3:2 Arcada Galati

Perungan Pojat Rovaniemi 0:3 Asseco Resovia Rzeszow
Drasma Dynamo Apeldoorn 0:3 Lindemans Aalst

Hurrikani Loima 0:3 Shakhter Soligorsk

  VK Dukla Liberec 3:2 Neftiochimik 2010 Burgas

 

ROUND 1/16, 1st LEG
 

Volley Schoenwerd 1:3 Prefaxis Menen
Lokomotiv Baku 3:1 Fonte Bastardo

VKP Bystrina SPU Nitra 1:3 Maliye Pyango SK Ankara

 

[VolleyRuller96 264]

CEV CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND ROBIN STANDINGS

after LEG 1 out of 6
 

 Best 2 teams in each group and the best 2 3-rd placed teams will qualify to the play-offs round
 

mw = matches won

ml = matches lost

pts = points

sets = sets won:lost

 

GROUP A

 

Standing	Team Name	MW (3:2)	ML (2:3)	PTS	Sets
1	Knack Roeslare	1 (0)	0 (0)	3	3:1
2	Sir Safety Perugia	1 (1)	0 (0)	2	3:2
3	Cucine Lube Civitanova	0 (0)	1 (1)	1	2:3
4	Fenerbahce Istanbul	0 (0)	1 (0)	0	1:3

GROUP B

 

Standing	Team Name	MW (3:2)	ML (2:3)	PTS	Sets
1	VFB Friedrichshafen	1 (0)	0(0)	3	3:1
2	Ford Store Levoranta Sastamala	1 (1)	0 (0)	2	3:2
3	PAOK Thesalloniki	0 (0)	1 (1)	1	2:3
4	Halkbank Ankara	0 (0)	0 (0)	0	1:3

 

GROUP C
 

Standing	Team Name	MW (3:2)	ML (2:3)	PTS	Sets
1	Lokomotiv Novosibirsk	1 (0)	0 (0)	3	3:0
2	Chaumont VB 52 Haute Marne	1 (0)	0 (0)	3	3:1
3	PGE Skra Belchatow	0 (0)	1 (0)	0	1:3
4	Dinamo Moscow	0 (0)	0 (0)	0	0:3

 

 

GROUP D

 

Standing	Team Name	MW (3:2)	ML (2:3)	PTS	Sets
1	Jastrzebski Wegiel	1 (0)	0 (0)	3	3:0
2	Zenit Kazan	1 (0)	0 (0)	3	3:1
3	Spacers Toulouse	0 (0)	1 (0)	0	1:3
4	Berlin Recycling Volleys	0 (0)	0 (0)	0	0:3

 

GROUP E

 

Standing	Team Name	MW (3:2)	ML (2:3)	PTS	Sets
1	Zaksa Kedzierzyn-Kozle	1 (0)	0 (0)	3	3:0
2	Diatec Trentino	1 (0)	0 (0)	3	3:1
3	Noliko Maaseik	0 (0)	1 (0)	0	1:3
4	Arkas Izmir	0 (0)	1 (0)	0	0:3

 

[VolleyRuller96 264]

Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK storm to comprehensive victory in Russian derby

 

Luxembourg, December 7, 2017. The gold medal winners from the 2013 edition, Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK started their journey with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Dinamo MOSCOW in an eagerly anticipated Russian derby. The first Lokomotiv’s victory over the Muscovites in three years.  The Belgian reigning national champions of Knack ROESELARE caught a flying start to their campaign in Pool A as they stormed to a 3-1 away victory over Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL in Turkey.  Later VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN hosted Turkey’s national champions Halkbank ANKARA and the home team strode to a 3-1 win (99 points to 88).

Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL (TUR) vs. Knack ROESELARE (BEL) 1-3 (20-25, 19-25, 25-21, 16-25)

•    Despite an early lead for Fenerbahce (8-6), Knack ROESELARE edged ahead at the second technical break (16-13) and won the opening set 25-20.
•    Knack ROESELARE set the pace of the game from start to finish in the second set (8-4, 16-11, 25-19).
•    Despite enjoying a small lead at both technical timeouts, Knack ROESELARE could not hold on to it and Fenerbahce won the third set 25-21.
•    Knack ROESELARE were the dominant force in the fourth set where their supremacy was never in danger (8-3, 16-7, 25-16).

 

 

 

Veljko Basic, head coach of Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL: “This is not a good start to our Champions League campaign but Knack ROESELARE played very well, especially with their serve, and we had some real problems with that. I think the second match will be a completely different story, since we know what we have to do and how to prepare for this match. They surprised us with their aggressiveness and serve. They won because they were the better team this evening.”

Emile Rousseaux, head coach of Knack ROESELARE: “I think everybody knows that we play differently than any other team and this makes us stand out in many ways. We do use float serves without too much spin, and often resort to jump float serves. This is rather unusual and one of our main assets, also when playing at home in Belgium. We do not have particularly good players from a physical standpoint; actually, we have rather normal qualities but certainly not outstanding and as a result we have to play with speed too. I think that today we showed that we have a good team and that we have developed a good system of play. I want to congratulate my players. I think that tonight you could see some big difference between these two teams.”

VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN (GER) vs. Halkbank ANKARA (TUR) 3-1 (25-14, 25-23, 21-25, 28-26)

•    VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN won their first opening match in the group phase of the CEV Volleyball Champions League since 2013 when they won in five sets against Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK.  While the last time they had the lead in their group after the opening match was back in 2010.
•    Challenge-challenge in the second set. Vital Heynen kept FRIEDRICHSHAFEN’s lead of 21-19 instead of 20-20 alive by a successful challenge, a key moment in the match.
•    It was a statistically amazing first set for FRIEDRICHSHAFEN with 83% kills after positive reception, five blocks and three service winners.
•    Cheers. Vital Heynen delivered on his promise “beer-bet” again providing all attending fans with some beer.

 

 

 

Vital Heynen, head coach of VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN said: “ANKARA is no bad playing team, but we are in a good shape at the moment. Last year we needed one more point to make it to the next round. I think we are on a good way."

Slobodan Kovac, head coach of Halkbank ANKARA commented: “Congratulations to FRIEDRICHSHAFEN. They were the more consequent team tonight. We made too many mistakes and this is not enough against a strong team like this.”

Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK (RUS) vs. Dinamo MOSCOW (RUS) 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-22)

•    Roman Martynyuk, the starting libero of Lokomotiv, suffered an injury before the match – as a result, Valentin Golubev replaced him.
•    This was the first CEV Volleyball Champions League match this season for Dinamo MOSCOW, whereas Lokomotiv had previously played ACH Volley LJUBLJANA twice in the 3rd Round.  
•    Last weekend Dinamo MOSCOW did not participate in the final stage of the Russian national cup and therefore had a little more time to focus on the match with Lokomotiv.
•    Lokomotiv claimed their first victory over Dinamo in three years.
•    György Grozer immediately set the tone of the game for the hosts before Dinamo responded with a series of points scored by Alexey Ostapenko. However, Lokomotiv were able to claim the first set by virtue of their strong defence game.
•    Dinamo did not pose any real threat to Lokomotiv in the second set – with Sergey Savin being especially effective and NOVOSIBIRSK claiming a landslide 25-17 win.
•    Grozer paved the way towards a massive 10-4 lead for the home side in the third set but Ostapenko helped Dinamo almost level the score. However, Lokomotiv’s block and defence made the difference, thus resulting in a 3-0 victory for the hosts.
•    Grozer top scored in the match with 21 points.

 

 

 

Plamen Konstantinov, head coach of Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK: “I am pleased with today’s performance and the result, and the quality of our game of course, which is the most important thing. It was important to start with a victory in the group stage, especially at home. The second game will also take place in front of our spectators, and we hope to achieve further success. A 3-0 victory over Dinamo is a great success, and this result can only please us. However, we must think about the next matches and quickly refocus, because in two days we will play again in the Russian national league. It is very important not to lose the spirit.”

Boris Kolchin, head coach of Dinamo MOSCOW: “Lokomotiv looked more solid and deserved this victory. They played some tough matches in the final stages of the national cup and this was some kind of an advantage for them. Yes, they did not make it to the final, but it is clear that compared to the beginning of the season, they have developed enormously. We did not manage at the beginning of each set to cope with their spikes, and this somehow affected us. Although we prepared for this match very carefully, we did not execute our plan. In all the decisive moments, Grozer made the difference for Lokomotiv. This is a player, whom I have been lucky to work with in Belgorod. I know all of his strengths and he truly is a great player. We still lack the right attitude and quality but tonight we did everything we could.”
 

Edited December 8, 2017 by VolleyRuller96

[VolleyRuller96 264]

Awful, disgusting  incident took place yesterday during the Challenge cup game between Olympiacos Piraeus and Tours VB . Whenever the Cameroonian  player of the French Club, Nathan Wounembaina made contact with the ball, especially when he was serving, some Greek fans were insulting him and making monkey noises

What's worse when the player wanted to talk with a CEV official after the game, he was ignored

 

More details http://www.volleywood.net/leagues/greece-leagues/greek-fans-versus-cameroons-nathan-wounembaina/

[VolleyRuller96 264]

TODAY'S SCHEDULE
 

 

LEG 2

GROUP B
 

Ford Store Levoranta Sastamala - VFB Friedrichshafen

 GROUP D

Jastrzebski Wegiel - Spacers Touolouse

 

 

ROUND 1/16, 2nd Leg

Belogorie Belgorord - CSKA Sofia

ACH Volley Ljubljana - OK Novi Pazar

Asseco Resovia Rzeszow - Perungan Pojat Rovaniemi

Neftochimik 2010 Burgas - Dukla Liberec

 

ROUND 1/16, 2nd Leg

 

Tours VB - Olympiacos Piraeus
UVC Holding Graz - Benfica Lisboa

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

Edited December 19, 2017 by VolleyRuller96