European Cups
2014 DenizBank Champions League
Results:
Zenit Kazan (RUS) – Cucine Lube Banca Marche Macerata (ITA) 3-2 (21-25, 24-26, 25-22, 25-23, 15-8)
Berlin Recycling Volley (GER) – Trentino Diatec (ITA) 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-19)
Ach Volley Ljubljana (SLO) – Copra Elior Piacenza (ITA) 1-3 (25-22, 21-25, 15-25, 22-25)
ZENIT KAZAN – CUCINE LUBE BANCA MARCHE MACERATA 3-2 (21-25, 24-26, 25-22, 25-23, 15-8) – ZENIT KAZAN: Anderson 21, Apalikov 10, Sivozhelez 10, Volkov 10, Grbic 4, Yakovlev 9, Abrosimov, Verbov (L), Mikhailov 16. DNP Mochalov, Kobzar, Babichev. Coach. Alekno.
CUCINE LUBE BANCA MARCHE MACERATA: Henno (L), Paparoni (L), Zaytsev 32, Stankovic 8, Patriarca, Kovar 6, Martino, Monopoli, Kurek 18, Baranowicz 4, Podrascanin 8. DNP Giombini. Coach. Giuliani.
Macerata went very close from the breakthrough in Russia. The Italians were defeated at the tie-break after having taken a 2-0 lead. They therefore finish in second place, two points behind Kazan. This remains an important results for Macerata, who had already secured qualification into the Playoffs 12 before this last encounter.
The turning point of the game occurred at 21-19 in the third set for Macerata on a Kurek counter. Kazan tied it on a block from Anderson on Zaytsev before Sivozhelez and Volkov’s serves brought the Russians back into it. Macerata was ahead in the fourth too (12-6), this time it was Apalikov’s run of serves that had Kazan cutting the deficit. The tie-break was one-way traffic.
Alberto Giuliani (coach Cucine Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “We’re a bit disappointed but only with the final result, because I can say without any doubt that Macerata has dominated the play. But just when they were physically finished, they started to hit the serve hard and managed to get back. At the same time, Kovar had some physical problems (shoulder), and he is crucial in reception for us. I am glad with the character shown by the team on a tough court and at the end of two days in which the Russians did everything they could to make our life harder, both in terms of organization and attitude on court. We just have to think of this game as an important learning test, we have very young players in certain positions, so we definitely need this kind of games to get better”.
BERLIN RECYCLING VOLLEYS – TRENTINO DIATEC 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-19)
BERLIN RECYCLING VOLLEYS: Touzinsky 5, Shoji 1, Kromm 13, Spirovski 2, KÜhner 2, Krystof (L), Carroll 5, Kmet 6, Schott, Lisinac 12. DNP Fischer, Sikiric. Coach. Lebedew.
TRENTINO DIATEC: Sintini 1, SolÉ 10, Ferreira 3, Lanza 14, Sokolov 5, Colaci (L), Fedrizzi 4, Burgsthaler 5. DNP Suxho, Thei, De Paola, Polo. Coach. Serniotti.
Trentino ended the main phase with a 3-0 defeat against Berlin, Germany. This was a first loss without consequences as the Italians had already secured top spot of their group. Birarelli, who became a dad, stayed in Trento, while Sokolov and Suxho were on the bench. Trento’s best scorer was Lanza with 14 points, while Fedrizzi as outside hitter is an experiment that did not work out so well.
Roberto Serniotti (coach Trentino Diatec): “I wanted to take advantage of this game to experiment before the game against Perugia, where we will miss a couple of important players, but it’s clear I did not help the team to consolidate its schemes and at this level this makes the difference. We played against an excellent team, they put us under pressure from the start, but in each set we stopped fighting far too soon, and we got nervous when things did not go our way. We should have been able to play our game even in such a context. Fortunately, we had done well to qualify with a game in hand”.
ACH VOLLEY LJUBLJANA – COPRA ELIOR PIACENZA 1-3 (25-22, 21-25, 15-25, 22-25)
ACH VOLLEY LJUBLJANA: Flajs 10, Pokersnik 10, Klobucar 1, Plesko, Cuk 17, Bregant 1, Ropret 3, Fabjan (L), Rasic 6, Brulec, Vidic 6. DNP Koncilja. Coach. Slabe.
COPRA ELIOR PIACENZA: Marra (L), Le Roux 14, Papi 6, Fei 9, Kaliberda, Simon Aties 19, Zlatanov 15, Husaj, Tencati 3, Vettori 3, De Cecco 2. DNP Partenio. Coach. Monti.
Piacenza got just what they wanted at the start of the competition: the qualification in the playoffs 12 with the first place. The Italians needed just one point but they faced the game without caring about it. Tours also won but stays in second place. Piacenza lost the first set but adapted to the Ljubljana court and regained control. Blocking was key (19 vs 5), while they also registered 9 aces vs 5.
Luca Monti (coach Copra Elior Piacenza): “We started off poorly, we were very tense. We might have kept the Trento loss in our minds. We’re not playing well, we’re finding it hard, it might depend on the fact we’ve been playing away a lot of late but the fact remains that we always find ourselves out of breath. The first place was our target and we managed that but we definitely hoped the game would be finished sooner. I am happy with the win, for the qualification as first, but not with the performance”.
Results and standings of the Italians
2014 DenizBank Champions League – Round 6
POOL A
Tours VB (FRA) – Marek Union-Ivkoni Dupnitsa (BUL) 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-22)
Ach Volley Ljubljana (SLO) – Copra Elior Piacenza (ITA) 1-3 (25-22, 21-25, 15-25, 22-25)
Standings: Copra Elior Piacenza 16, Tours VB 13, Ach Volley Ljubljana 4, Marek Union-Ivkoni Dupnitsa 3
POOL D
Arkas Izmir (TUR) – Energy Investments Lugano (SUI) 2-3 (25-16, 25-20, 23-25, 17-25, 13-25)
Berlin Recycling Volley (GER) – Trentino Diatec (ITA) 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-19)
Standings: Trentino Diatec 15, Berlin Recycling Volley 15, Energy Investments Lugano 4, Arkas Izmir 2
POOL E
Zenit Kazan (RUS) – Cucine Lube Banca Marche Macerata (ITA) 3-2 (21-25, 24-26, 25-22, 25-23, 15-8)
Posojilnica Aich/Dob (AUT) – Lokomotiv Novosibirsk (RUS) 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-13)
Standings: Zenit Kazan 14, Cucine Lube Banca Marche Macerata 12, Lokomotiv Novosibirsk 8, Posojilnica Aich/Dob 2
The draw of the Champions League playoffs 12 will take place tomorrow in Luxemburg.
2014 Challenge Cup
16th of final return leg
Precura Antwerpen (BEL) – Andreoli Latina (ITA) 3-0 (27-25, 25-22, 25-16. Golden Set 10-15)
PRECURA ANTWERPEN – ANDREOLI LATINA 3-0 (27-25, 25-22, 25-16. Golden Set 10-15)
PRECURA ANTWERPEN: De Bont, Van Harskamp 2, Pekmans, Van Walle 12, Van Bemmelen 8, Jorna (L), Koelewijn 9, Ditlevsen 19, Baetens 13. DNP Heyrman, Depovere, Colson. Coach. Tanghe.
ANDREOLI LATINA: De Rocco, Candellaro, Rossini (L), Gitto 3, Sottile 1, Michalovic 1, Skrimov 12, Verhees 8, Paris, Noda Blanco 10, Starovic 19, Fragkos 3. Coach. Santilli.
Latina qualified for the Challenge Cup 8th of finals. They had the better of Antwerp, but only at the golden set once the Belgian had made up for the 3-0 loss of the first leg. In the next round, the Italians will take on Parnu from Estonia, as Bratislava withdrew.
Candido Grande (DS Andreoli Latina): “We did not handle the pressure and the packed arena well. But that’s an important win for everyone. It was not easy after the defeat to get going in the Golden Set in front of their fans”.
Sergio Noda (Andreoli Latina): “We did not play too well at the start, they played brilliantly pushed by their supporters. Ten minutes in the Golden Set were enough for us to qualify. We had already proved we could do those kind of breakthrough last year. Hopefully, this will give us a boost for Sunday’s league game against Città di Castello, this will be a crucial encounter for us”.
