Istanbul is waiting for Rabita BAKU!!!

Rabita Baku is the Champion of the Regular Season!!!

Rabita Baku after the defeat over Shirvan finished the regular season of the Azeri Super league as a champion and qualified to the Final Four round with Igtisadchi which outclassed Azerrail Baku in five-thriller match for the second place.
The third ranked Azerrail will meet Shirvan and the fourth Lokomotiv will test BAKI in the quarterfinal matches which will be played till two victories. After these matches two winners will join Rabita and Igtisadchi in the Final Four of three rounds where all the teams will play against one another. After three Final Four rounds the first ranked team will become the Champion of the Azerbaijani Super league season 2010/11.
All the three rounds will be staged in three different cities of Azerbaijan.

“Şirvan” - “Rabitə” - 0:3 (17:25, 14:25, 9:25)
MVP: Silvija Popovic
First match: “Rabitə” - “Şirvan” - 3:0 (25:13, 25:17; 25:16)
“Bakı” - “Lokomotiv” - 1:3 (13:25, 25:22, 24:26, 24:26)
MVP: Kseniya Kovalenko-Poznyak
First match: “Lokomotiv” – “Bakı” - 3:1 (25:20, 20:25, 25:18, 31:29 )

“Azərreyl” - “İqtisadçı” - 2:3 (23:25, 25:17, 27:25, 18:25, 12:15)
MVP: Tayyiba Haneef-Park
First match: “İqtisadçı” - “Azərreyl” - 2:3 (25:27, 14:25, 25:22, 26:24, 12:15)

1	Rabitə	10	8	2	26-8	18
2	İqtisadçı	10	8	2	26-10	18
3	Azərreyl	10	7	3	24-11	17
4	Lokomotiv	10	4	6	15-22	14
5	Bakı	10	2	8	9-24	12
6	Şirvan	10	1	9	4-29	11

Rabita Baku is in the Final Four of the Champions League!

Rabita BAKU (AZE) vs. Bank BPS Fakro MUSZYNA (POL) 3:0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-19)

Azerbaijan’s Rabita BAKU claimed a ticket for the final four coming up next March 19-20 in Istanbul after edging out, for the second time in about 7 days, Bank BPS Fakro MUSZYNA of Poland, once again in straight sets. A rookie in the CEV Champions League, going into the return round of the Playoffs 6, Rabita could boost a very impressive record, having lost only one match since the beginning of the season. Rabita started the game with some great attacks of Sanja Starovic and local heroine Natalya Mammadova who were well supported by the blocks stamped by Natasa Krsmanovic and Mira Golubovic (25-20). Rabita opted for veteran setter Iryna Zhukova in set 2 and once again Golubovic and Starovic helped Mammadova set the pace of the game going rapidly for the final 25-19. Set 3 was a bit more nervous, especially as Rabita did not want to miss the ticket for the final four and could hardly wait for the celebrations. Bank BPS Fakro played well with Aleksandra Jagielo and Kinga Kasprzak but the block of Rabita worked perfectly to avoid any additional risk.
Natalya Mammadova said after the game: “We are very happy that we qualified to the final four directly from our first participation in this competition. It is a great result. I want to thank our fans for their great support. We will do our best to pay them back with some more wins”. Coach Dejan Brdjovic: “Our team was simply great today and showed an amazing performance. We are very happy”. “Rabita played a superb game and I want to congratulate our opponents. I wish them the best and to claim the trophy in the final four” commented the mentor of Bank BPS, Bogdan Serwinski.



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Table of Honour!!! Unstoppable Azeri teams!

Three of the remaining four teams left in the GM Challenge Cup hail from the Azerbaijani Superleague. One final spot is guaranteed to be filled by an Azerbaijani team, as Lokomotiv will take on Igtisadchi.

Azerrail vs. Uralochka is the tie that will decide if an all-Azerbaijani final is possible.

In the second leg quarterfinal game, Azerrail defeated Finnish LP Viesti 3:0 (25:20, 25:20, 25:16) to advance to the next round.

The Finnish side had to play without its main offensive threat, Belgian Virginie De Carne, who missed the match due to family reasons. Nevertheless, the visitors put up a fight against strong Azerrail, but faded at the end.

Meanwhile, in Czech Republic, Igtisadchi dug itself into a hole early on, as the host team Kralovo Pole took the first two sets, 25:23, 25:19. Igtisadchi rallied to take the next two, 25:14, 25:22 and forced a decisive fifth set.

In the fifth set, Igtisadchi jumped to an early 8:4 lead on a kill by Ivana Milos and extended the lead to five, 10:5, on a kill from Riikka Lehtonen. Kralovo Pole responded with three back-to-back points to cut the deficit to 8:10, forcing Igtisadchi head coach Jan de Brandt call a timeout. Out of the break, a clever tip over from Kathleen Weiss and two kills from Tayyiba Haneef-Park gave Igtisadchi a 13:10 lead. A service ace from Milos put Baku team within one of a victory, 14:10 and an attack error from the host team gave Igtisadchi the ticket to the semifinal, 15:10.

Rabita Baku- it is your time now!!! INSHALLAH!!!

Lokomotiv BAKU barely avoids golden set in Schwerin

2011 GM Capital Challenge Cup - Women

Schwerin, Germany, March 1, 2011. Azerbaijan’s Lokomotiv BAKU qualified to the semis of the 2011 GM Capital Challenge Cup by backing up their home win from last week with a close 3:2 scored tonight in their return game against SCHWERINER SC of Germany (17-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-23, 16-14). In the next round Lokomotiv may have a derby with the compatriots of Igtisadchi BAKU who scored a 3:0 win over Kralovo Pole BRNO in the first round of the 4th finals.
After losing 0:3 in Baku, the hosts wanted to display a very good performance tonight in front of their many fans – some 1,780 - and go for revenge to eventually play the golden set. The girls from BAKU – who lined-up Kamenova, Kovalenko, Parkhomenko, Richards, Metcalf and Keldibekova – struggled to find their rhythm and so the opening set was totally dominated by SCHWERINER SC. The second was very close, with the home side moving up to 8:7 by the first technical break before BAKU could edge out the opponents in a very tough final rush (23-25). Lokomotiv played a solid opening in set nr 3 (6:8) but SCHWERINER SC could draw to 10 all. With a very good efficiency from the serving line, the Germans moved up to 19:14 and even a time-out asked by the Azerbaijani coach could not avoid the final 25-16.
Supported by some 60 fans that had made it to the local arena, LOKOMOTIV stormed back in the fourth set (4:8) and played with great consistency for the provisional 11:17. After a hard fight, SCHWERINER SC could almost close the gap (20:21) and some more exciting rallies followed before BAKU claimed the 2:2 (23-25).
The tie-break started well for the hosts but BAKU went up as the teams changed sides (6:8) before a standing ovation helped SCHWERINER SC claim the 10 all. Lokomotiv stamped the provisional 10:13 but as the hosts came closer (12:13), their coach Dragutin Baltic asked for a break but SCHWERINER SC claimed the next point. Lokomotiv had then a first match ball but could close the game only a few rallies later (14-16).
“We made it to the next round and that is the most important thing for us” said Orkhan Huseynov, the team manager of Lokomotiv BAKU. Even though his team lost the game Tore Aleksandersen, coach of SCHWERINER SC, found fair words after the match: “We lost the match but it was a game at a very high level for both teams. And I just can compliment all our players and the audience”.

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Iryna ZHUKOVA: The LEGEND is back!!!

According to Bojana

If someone told me four years ago that I would be playing for this long in Azerbaijan, I wouldn't have believed them. But the paths in our lives can be so much different from what we initially expect.

In the beginning, I was a skeptic. The Azeri volleyball league was totally foreign to me. I knew a lot about the National team of Azerbaijan, and about VC Azerrail, the team we played against earlier in the Champions League, but that was about it.

I spoke to my good friend Sanja Starovic, who had been in Baku for a month already. She told me that she was satisfied there, and knowing that really made my decision to come here much easier. Throughout the last three years of my stay in Baku, the level of the national league has risen tremendously. I have witnessed major changes within the clubs and in the organization of the league. The success of the clubs, especially Rabita, in European competitions, have enticed many excellent foreign players to come to Baku. People from all over the world are here. The league boasts a variety of nationalities from Bulgaria, America, Ukraine, Croatia, Thailand, Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Puerto Rico... and of course Serbia! :-)) This array of diversity is something that makes volleyball much better and more interesting. With such strong reinforcement from all around the world, Rabita has managed to keep the leading position, which makes me very happy and proud.

Season 2008/09, was the first step towards making the best results in the history of my club on the European stage. We started playing well in the Challenge Cup. In the next season, 2009/10, we finished third in the Final Four of the CEV cup, which we played in Baku. This season we are playing in the Champions League, while, at the same time, competing in the very strong Azeri League. As we all know, it is always everyone's goal to win against the champions, so it is not easy for us! :-)) That's why management of the club made a team of 13 players, where each player can help the team, while competing at a very high level. VC Rabita has always tried to keep the core of the team that functions well together, and build it up with more experienced players. Also, the important thing for the club was that girls have good character, which makes our everyday hard work much easier.

Besides, the little free time that we have, we spend together discovering some new and pretty places in the city. This year, we have been very lucky, because each free day that we've had was sunny and beautiful. The soft climate of Baku has made us enjoy Baku even more.

Now, we are entering the final stage of this season (2010-11), and it is going to be more exciting than ever! Now the most difficult, but also the most interesting part of the competition for all of us comes. We work very hard to make the best result possible and for sure we will make a great show for all spectators! :-)

At this moment we are facing a very difficult and stressful game against BPS Fakro, a team from Poland. AS ALWAYS, we will need all possible help and support from our wonderful spectators.

To sum things up, I am very glad that I am a part of the growth and development of the Azeri league. I hope that with very careful and organized work, it will continue in its progress of making women's volleyball stronger and stronger in Azerbaijan, which will make it well known all over the world.

I know that three years ago I had some doubts about coming to Azerbaijan, but now, playing with Rabita, has given me an opportunity to fight with and against some of the best players in the world! Which is the biggest wish of every player, and only goes to show that the paths in our lives are so unpredictable, and we should not be afraid to take a challenge.

Mira Golubovic : Flying Angel ;)