The club season officially started in Türkiye with the final clash of the Super Cup. Of course, the final was between the top superpowers of the country, VakifBank Istanbul and Fenerbahce Opet Istanbul. In front of more than 5,000 spectators in Burhan Felek Arena, there was quite an intense and exciting fight between these two from the first ball to the last, as expected.

The Fenerbahce side actually started the match well and found 2-1 in the sets. The Yellow Angels also started the fourth set better and took a 3-point lead at 16-13. However, Italian expert Giovanni Guidetti’s squad again did not give up and extended the match to the tie-break.

With a superior game from beginning to end in the tie-break set, VakifBank dealt with the pressure better than their rival and took the set, match, and the title 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 15-12). This win also means their fifth trophy in this tournament, and now they are tied with the Eczacibasi Dynavit Istanbul in this aspect.

The newcomers showed an outstanding performance on both sides, but one player clearly stood out: In her debut with VakifBank, American opposite Jordan Thompson became the top scorer of her team with 29 points in total. But especially her game in the tie-break made her the MVP of this clash. She tallied six points only in the tie-break set, with an 82% attack performance.

While Thompson’s contribution in the determining set brings the title to VakifBank, Brazilian Gabi Guimaraes (21 points, including four blocks) and newjoiner Alexandra Frantti (11 points) also helped their squad in this crucial victory.

For the Fenerbahce side, the most productive player was Polish young talent Magdalena Stysiak: She showed an impressive performance by 31 points with 51% in attack in her first game with the Fenerbahce jersey. Russian outside hitter Arina Fedorovtseva and Turkish middle blocker Asli Kalac also scored in double digits on the losing side, 18 and 11, respectively.

The first battle between these two ended with the superiority of VakifBank Istanbul. However, we will definitely see more VakifBank-Fenerbahce matches during the season, both in domestic tournaments and in #CLVolleyW as well. Now, both teams will continue adapting to the changes in the roster and try to improve their games in order to gain success in this long season.

Activities run in conjunction with the CEV School Project ‘Play Volleyball – Grow with it’ have resumed with a real bang in Bulgaria! The Bulgarian Volleyball Federation (BVF) organised a few weeks ago a Mini EuroVolley competition, with participation of some 60 children from EuroVolley host city Varna. The children had the opportunity to experience Volleyball like real elite competitors, under the spotlights of the Varna Sports Hall, where they tested their skills after being divided into six teams. After the action ended, members of the men’s Bulgarian national team joined in and awarded the kids with medals and gifts provided by partners of the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation.

For the second year in a row, school 81 SU Victor Hugo in Sofia is where the CEV School Project got officially underway through the delivery of a tournament for teachers and coaches. Some 10 teams from the Sofia region took part in the event, with the PGPCHE Aleko Konstantinov emerging victorious. The teams were awarded by representatives of the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation and the municipality of Sofia. Each school that took part in the tournament received a volleyball.

“Thank you to the partners from the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation, Sofia Municipality and RUO Sofia city, without whom we would not have been able to deliver this wonderful event! We also thank you, the participants, for finding time! Thank you also on my behalf to your directors for allowing your participation. I hope you had fun because that was the main goal!” Local School Director, Ms Nalbantova said.

Moreover, the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation has awarded the champions of the School Games organised for the academic year 2022/2023, who will also represent the Balkan country at the World School Games scheduled for 2024 in Dubai. The honour went to the girls of the school 22 SEU Georgi S. Rakovski and boys of 97 SU Bratya Miladinovi. They received special plaques from the BVF, as well as equipment to be able to grow and develop their skills even further.

Source: CEV