Tough and never ending battles determine unexpected results

2011 CEV Champions League

Luxembourg, February 3, 2011. Quite a few surprises were registered in the last night of play for the first round of the Playoffs 12, especially with VK Modranska PROSTEJOV and Bank BPS Fakro MUSZYNA edging out their rivals after never ending matches and breathtaking tie-breaks to assert their ambitions to make it to the next round of the competition. Scavolini PESARO was also able to seize the night at home against Dinamo MOSCOW and their former team player Carolina Costagrande while Zarechie ODINTSOVO cruised past Voléro ZÜRICH without any hesitation although the physical shape of some players was still hampered by a recent flu. Finally, the fans of TOURS VB could loudly cheer for their guys as they defeated last year’s runner-up Dinamo MOSCOW after trailing 0:2 down.

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Bank BPS Fakro MUSZYNA (POL) vs. MC-Carnaghi VILLA CORTESE (ITA) 3:2 (25-16, 26-24, 23-25, 21-25, 16-14)

In front of a packed competition hall, Bank BPS Fakro MUSZYNA defeated tonight Italy’s vice champion MC-Carnaghi VILLA CORTESE after more than 2 hours of tough play. “We are very happy that we were able to win this game. The hall was completely sold out and the atmosphere was great, I would like to thank our supporters because they helped us a lot tonight” said captain Aleksandra Jagielo, who topped the charts of the best scorers with 26 points, while Megan Hodge totaled 22 for the Italians.
The game started pretty well for the Italians with some excellent serves of Katja Jontes, recently added to their roster, but MUSZYNA went up 11:7 to force coach Abbondanza into an early time-out. The hosts widened the gap (16:10) and with some massive blocks – 5 in total – they could claim the opening set 25-16. Jagielo stood out for MUSZYNA in the second set where the final rush was full of tension and excitement. After a tie at 22, the teams played point for point until Megan Hodge spiked off the court for the joy of the local fans (26-24). The Italians did not miss their last chance to stay tuned and played with real determination in the third set, fighting for every single ball. At 24:23 for the Italians, there was a controversial situation as Jagielo successfully concluded her attack, the line judge said it was in but the first referee overruled and called it out. “The audience was so great tonight, they wanted us to win in straight sets” recalls coach Serwinski, “this is why we eventually lost the third set”. The Italians did not relent and with a good combination of blocks and serves, they notched set nr 4 at 25-21. Many long actions were to be seen during the tie-break, the game was very even until MUSZYNA prevailed at 16-14. “We made a couple of stupid mistakes there during the tie-break” says Italian mentor Marcello Abbondanza. “In one week we’ll play the return game at home and we’ll do our best also to win the golden set”. Captain Sara Anzanello added: “It is a shame that we lost. However, we are looking forward to the return game in Italy”. Her Polish counterpart Jagielo concluded: “We have to travel to Italy to win the game there and not to think about any golden set”.

VK Modranska PROSTEJOV (CZE) vs. Rabita BAKU (AZE) 3:2 (19-25, 25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 21-19)

The girls of VK Modranska PROSTEJOV caused a major surprise tonight by defeating another top-ranked team, this time Rabita BAKU of Azerbaijan, after 2 and half hours of intense play. With this performance the Czechs are very close to make their dream come true, i.e. to book a spot for the Playoffs 6 of the 2011 CEV Champions League. The game was a real drama, full of tension and continuous turnarounds; with this 3:2 PROSTEJOV can travel to Azerbaijan to play there the return game next week and – in case of a home win for Mammadova & Co. – will go for the golden set to determine the final winner of this clash. After 4 tough sets, the outcome of the game was finalized at the tie-break. Modranska went up there 10:8 and 12:9 and at this moment it looked like the frenzied fans were going to tear down the DDM Sports Centre. The course changed very rapidly as the Czechs made some errors in reception and Rabita got a couple of match balls (12:14). Modranska fought back before missing three match balls and diverting two more for the Azerbaijanis. It took some more time and the final whistle was there as PROSTEJOV silvered a fourth match ball for the final 21-19. Coach Miroslav Cada said: “We succeeded in defending their great attacks. We were definitely stronger tonight in blocking and defense. Starovic was excellent tonight for Rabita but Natalya Mammadova, usually one of the best European spikers, was below her standards apart from the opening set. We defended many attacks of Kimberly Glass – we know her very well – and my decision to substitute Kubinova and Soares paid off as well”.

Zarechie ODINTSOVO (RUS) vs. Voléro ZÜRICH (SUI) 3:0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-18)

Right before the home game against the Swiss girls of Voléro, some players of Zarechie ODINTSOVO – namely Walewska, Makarova and Naumova - had fallen sick with the flu while Margareta Kozuch sprained her ankle to be forced to sit out the match as well. In spite of these difficult pre-conditions, Zarechie totally outclassed Voléro tonight in three straight sets.
After a phase where the teams were testing their respective skills, the hosts took command of the operations with many first tempo of Brazilian star Walewska to finally claim the opening set 25-21. Zarechie was playing very well even though the young Ekaterina Pankova – daughter of coach Vadim and 1988 Olympic champion Marina Nikulina – was forced to play as setter, with Maria Zhadan back on court only at the end of the second set. Voléro enjoyed a good start in set nr 2 (6:9) but the hosts quickly drew the count to 9 all and set the pace with a great contribution stemming from Ekaterina Bogacheva. As she was in the serving area, Zarechie scored 7 consecutive points and the set was closed pretty quickly at 25-15. Zarechie displayed a splendid team work also in the third set, sailing away before the second mandatory stop and closing the game with an ace of Bogacheva for the final 25-18. Coach Pankov was more than happy with the result: “Today our opponents did not show their best game. In the first set we were trying to adopt our style of play to our rivals and played calmly. We definitely turned into action what we had planned in our training sessions and I am very happy with this and also with the performance of our young players. Anyway, Voléro played really bad. I think that they will perform much better in the return game next week in Switzerland. We need to fully recover our best players to find optimal conditions for the future”. Middle blocker Elena Emelianova commented: “Our team work was excellent, but also our outside hitters played a great match and we served well too”. Swiss mentor Svetlana Ilic concluded: “Unfortunately tonight we went through what I was afraid of. We have a team of young players and because of our desire to win we could not show our real level and also could not relax and play with the right inspiration. And when such experienced players are on the other side of the net, like those playing for Zarechie, the chances to claim a victory are not very high. Nevertheless, I do not think we lost everything tonight, we will return to Zurich and prepare for the next game at home”.


Scavolini PESARO (ITA) vs. Dinamo MOSCOW (RUS) 3:2 (19-25, 25-14, 19-25, 27-25, 15-10)

In front of an excited audience, Scavolini PESARO went through five long and demanding sets before finally edging out Dinamo MOSCOW in what was supposed to be a main highlight of the Playoffs 12. Before the start of the game the audience deserved a very warm welcome to Carolina Costagrande, who had played for PESARO for a total of 5 seasons and was back in Italy with her new team, Dinamo MOSCOW. The fans had prepared some special choirs and gifts for her and she was even presented with a plaque by the Mayor of Pesaro, Luca Ceriscioli.
As soon as the match started, the friendly atmosphere turned into a real fight; Scavolini went up 10:9 before Anna Matienko had her turn in the serving zone and that was the key moment of the set that eventually was claimed by Dinamo 19-25. The Italians played a solid game in the second set and easily bagged this section of the game 25-14. The third was a tremendous fight where Dinamo eventually prevailed after a long point for point. Scavolini was able to stand a breathtaking final rush in set 4 to go for the tie-break where the Italians maintained momentum and could eventually celebrate the final 15-10. US American Destinee Hooker was the best scorer of the game with 31 points and a splendid 54% in attack. After the game, spiker Senna Usic Jogunica stated: “We started slowly, me too, but we improved little by little. We were able to control our nerves when it counted the most. Now we need to turn the page, there is no time for celebrations as we need to rest and to prepare the return game in Moscow”. Carolina Costagrande commented for Dinamo: “Some mistakes made the difference and unfortunately we were affected by such mistakes in some key moments. Scavolini relaxed and was playing better and better”.