News - Page 122 of 136

TENT Obrenovac finished great #CEVChallengeCupW season in semifinals

by Press 03/03/2022

written by Press

TENT from Obrenovac gave their best but could not proceed to finals of the CEV Challenge Cup 2022.

Tenerife La Laguna in the return match of the semifinals won against TENT with 3:0 (25:22, 25:16, 25:16) after 69 minutes of play.

La Laguna once again confirmed the quality which they have shown in last week’s match in Obrenovac. In all three sets, the Spaniards were better rival and deservedly secured a place in the final.

After last year’s placement in the semifinals of the CEV Cup, the young volleyball players of TENT made a huge success this year as well, which is another indicator that Serbian club volleyball is on the rise.

In the other semi-final, Italian standout Savino Del Bene SCANDICCI needed three sets only as well to have the upper hand against AYDIN BBSK of Turkey. The Italian team did so after recording a 3-2 away victory last week, this time with Ekaterina Antropova scoring as many as 23 points – to respond to the 17 marked by Greta Szakmary for the Turks. SCANDICCI have reached their first European final in history after their three straight appearances in the elite CEV Champions League where they made it as far as to the quarterfinals.

03/03/2022 0 comments

Halkbank goes to final #CEVChallengeCupM

by Press 02/03/2022

written by Press

Halkbank easily punched their ticket to the final as they claimed the first two sets from their re-match with Panathinaikos AC ATHENS and that was enough to seal their spot in the last stage of the competition. The team from Turkey’s capital eventually recorded a 3-2 victory in Athens to keep their perfect record in this year’s Challenge Cup.

“Thanks to all the Panathinaikos fans; they were amazing even when we lost the first two sets. A big thank you to the crowd because they stayed until the end. We tried our best, but Halkbank is a very good team, with strong and experienced players. We did our best and now we keep on going to achieve the rest of our goals, i.e. winning the championship and the national cup”, said Axel Jacobsen, setter of Panathinaikos.

“We are happy to make it to the finals. The atmosphere today was amazing. All this experience was magical and that’s why I applauded at the Panathinaikos fans after the game”, said Fernando Hernandez Ramos, player of Halkbank.

The second finalist, Narbonne Volley reached the final in a very contrasting fashion. The French team needed a Golden Set to edge MEVZA League winners ACH Volley Ljubljana of Slovenia.

02/03/2022 0 comments

CEV Main Romania Türkiye

Eczacibasi Dynavit defeated Alba Blaj for place in #CEVCupW final

by Press 02/03/2022

written by Press

Eczacibasi Dynavit ISTANBUL booked the first spot in the grand final as they defeated CSM Volei Alba Blaj in straight sets . The team of Ferhat Akbas totally controlled the situation on the court in the first two sets, which were crucial for their fate, and even if they struggled a bit in the third part, they managed to overcome it and earned their second 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-19) win in the semifinals. Eczacibasi outblocked (8-3) and outspiked their rivals (45-34), once Tijana Boskovic scored match-high 13 points, performing only in two first sets.

Eczacibasi Dynavit Istanbul entered the home court at Eczacibasi Spor Salonu Istanbul having to their name a 3-0 win earned one week before in Blaj. The team under guidance of coach Ferhat Akbas were, obviously, pre-favourite of this encounter and they were showing their strength from the beginning of the re-match as well. In the opening set, they quickly jumped to a 10-6 lead that they kept improving further, totally dominating the game. Recording as many 81% of team efficiency in attack Maja Ognjenovic was winning the battle between Serbian setters (Sladjana Mirkovic is in charge of setting on side of Blaj) with Beyza Arici (6 points) and Tijana Boskovic being top scorers of the home team.

Eczacibasi didn’t slow down in the second set that started with 5-2 lead for the hosts. However, Blaj was motivated to keep the pace with their more decorated rivals. They shorten the distance at 6-5, but Eczacibasi immediately reacted redubling their efforts, leading by six-point margin at 16-10. With solid block (McKenzie Adams had three winning stuffs) and Boskovic on fire hammering as many as eight points they didn’t have to look back and took a 2-0 lead in the match.

Having already a spot in the final in their pocket (they needed two sets to seal the deal), coach Akbas decided to make a few changes in his line-up. Without their star duo Ognjenovic & Boskovic Eczacibasi started to struggle and CSM Volei Alba Blaj seized the opportunity and that resulted in a point-by-point race that was continued until 14-14. Then, Gozde Yilmaz went to the service line and made a difference (3 aces in third set), her team jumped to 18-14 and regained control on the court for good. Tijana Boskovic topped the scorers chart with 13 points to her name, one less had the best scorer of Blaj – Victoriia Russu.

The second finalist Allianz MTV STUTTGART had to win only two sets to celebrate a progress to the finals and they quickly completed this mission in the match against Mladost Zagreb. The German side showed great team efforts and powered by their captain Krystal Rivers, who topped the scorers chart with 16 points, they were unstoppable. Their impressive attack was a key to victory with result 3-0 (25-26, 25-13, 25-10), Stuttgart outclassed Zagreb in this component – 50 winning spikes to 21!

The first final clash will be played on March 15, a decisive re-match one week later on March 22.

02/03/2022 0 comments

CEV Main Türkiye

Eczacibasi Dynavit ISTANBUL one step closer to the CEV Cup final

by Press 24/02/2022

written by Press

Eczacibasi Dynavit ISTANBUL seized their 3-0 victory in a match that lasted 82 minutes, with the “usual suspects” stealing the show – Tijana Boskovic finished as top scorer with 23 points, while legendary setter Maja Ognjenovic was named MVP.

However, the away semi-final matches are due to take place next week, so nothing is over yet for CSM Volei Alba BLAJ.

Although Eczacibasi Dynavit ISTANBUL entered the court as heavy favourites, the hosts from CSM Volei Alba BLAJ showed great motivation right after the first referee whistle. The Turkish team tried several times to take the leadership position, but the Romanians would always chase them, getting closer, and delivering a rather equal performance (7 to 8 attacks at 13-10). However, the more experienced players of Eczacibasi took things in their hands in the deciding moments. Mc Kenzie Adams and Tijana Boskovic were the team leaders in these moments (with six and five points respectively), while for the hosts Olga Strantzali was doing good, with five points to her name.

– The guests started slightly better in the second set, but Victoriia Russu and Olga Strantzali turned things around as Alba Blaj took the lead at 13-11. However, with Hande Baladin on the serve, and with some powerful attacks by Tijana Boskovic, the Turkish team came back, eventually emerging victorious. As many as four kill blocks and three aces turned out to be crucial for Eczacibasi in this set.

Confident in their power, Ecacibasi did not face any problems in the third set and closed the match in three sets. Legendary Serbian setter Maja Ognjenovic was named MVP of the game.

Boskovic topped the charts with as many as 23 points to her name. Hande Baladin added 12 (five kill blocks). For Alba Blaj, Russu scored 12 times as well.

Overall, Eczacibasi finished better on all counts – 51 to 43 winning spikes (52% efficiency), recorded as many as 13 kill blocks (to six) and aced three times (to one).

24/02/2022 0 comments