The Azerbaijani volleyball federation released the schedule for the second round of the Azerbaijani Superleague. The national championship will resume on Tuesday, January 18. The schedule of remaining matches, including playoff schedule, will be announced at a later date.
Round VI. January 18, 2011
In a Champions League match that came down to the wire, Rabita Baku suffered a 2:3 (25:20, 21:25, 19:25, 25:23, 6:15) setback to Italian champions Scavolini Pesaro.
Natalya Mammadova was the best scorer of the match with 26 points and Sanja Starovic added 21 points of her own. Destinee Hooker and Manon Flier duo of Scavolini scored 20 points each.
In the first set, Rabita jumped to a quick 5:2 edge and pushed its lead to seven at the 14:7 mark. Scavolini battled back behind an 8:1 run to tie the set at 15, but Azerbaijani champions answered quickly with a 6:1 counter-rally capped by a double-block that put Rabita in front, 21:16. Two powerful spikes from Hooker and Ferretti cut Rabita's lead to three, but Natalya Mammadova clinched the set for Rabita, 25:20.
Rabita started the second set slow as the host team, paced by a pair of quick kills from Hooker and Manzano took a slim 8:6 advantage. Scavolini then went on to widen the margin to 13:6 midway through the set. Rabita desperately tried to close the gap, but Italians kept a firm grip on the lead, finishing the set 25:21.
Sanja Starovic kept Rabita alive early in the third set, scoring four of the first five Rabita points. With the set tied at seven, Scavolini managed a 7:2 run, forcing Rabita into a timeout, down 14:9. The Azerbaijani team fought back, leveling the score at 16, but Scavolini promptly answered with a set-closing 9:3 run that lifted Scavolini to a 25:19 set victory.
Facing the risk of returning to Baku empty handed, Rabita came out aggressive in the fourth set, but Scavolini responded with a resilient offensive effort, keeping the score close - 8:8, 10:10, 16:15, 20:20. A kill from Starovic and a block from Krsmanovic got Rabita back up 22:20, forcing Scavolini timeout. The sides went on to exchange points, with Rabita emerging on top, 25:23.
Scavolini jumped ahead early in the fifth set, 3:1, but Rabita quickly evened the set at four. Unfortunately, this was it for Rabita for today, as the team scored only two more points in the remaining minutes of the match, allowing Italians to take the set and the match, 15:6.
Despite the loss, Rabita maintained the lead at the top of Pool E, and barring unexpected result next week against Romanian Dinamo Romprest, Azerbaijani champions are poised to finish first in the group.
In the first leg of the GM Challenge Cup round of 16, Lokomotiv Baku needed only an hour and three minutes to top Austrian Linz-Steg in three sets, 25:15, 25:11, 25:18.
Lokomotiv jumped out to an early 8:2 lead to start the match and went up 16:7 by the time of the second technical time-out. Azerbaijani team maintained the lead, eventually taking the set 25:15.
The second set was very similar to the first as Lokomotiv again quickly jumped to an 8:2 lead. Despite all efforts from the host team, the gap only grew wider as Lokomotiv finished the set 25:11.
In the third set, Austrian team tried to keep the distance as close as possible, trailing only 3 points - 5:8. It didn't last long, however, as Lokomotiv went on a 11:4 run to take the decisive 18:9 lead. Both teams exchanged points before Lokomotiv pushed through with a 25:18.
The return match will take place in Baku next week on January 12.
Meanwhile, Azerrail and Igtisadchi have reached an agreement with Greek Olympiacos and Serbian Tent teams to play both legs of their GM Challenge Cup round 16 games in Baku. Matches will take place next week on January 12-13.
