Marek Sulc (#17) top scored as Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL claimed a comprehensive 3-0 victory in Switzerland
CEV, Luxembourg. Dinamo BUCURESTI, Halkbank ANKARA and Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL emerged as the winners of the men’s CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup 2021 fixtures contested on Wednesday night. Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL have already booked their spot in the 8th Finals following the agreement previously reached with their opponents, Lindaren Volley LUZERN of Switzerland, to play one match only in the 16th Finals of the competition.
Lindaren Volley LUZERN (SUI) vs. Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL (AUT) 0-3 (18-25, 21-25, 19-25)
The team from Lower Austria needed 69 minutes only to storm to a comprehensive 3-0 victory over their neighbours from Switzerland. Marek Sulc top scored for the bronze medal winners from last year’s MEVZA League with 17 points. This result is enough for Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL to progress straight to the 8th Finals, where they will be playing PÄRNU VK of Estonia – who enjoyed a walkover in this round after the withdrawal of Finland’s Tiikerit KOKKOLA from the competition.
Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL (AUT) storms through to the next round
Halkbank ANKARA (TUR) vs. Hapoel KFAR SABA (ISR) 3-1 (28-26, 25-19, 19-25, 25-17)
This year’s BVA Cup winners Halkbank ANKARA claimed the first of two matches against Hapoel KFAR SABA, with the re-match due to follow on Friday in the Turkish capital as well. Despite the absence of any fans, as many as 100 members from the local police attended the match at Baskent Volleyball Hall in order to guarantee the safety of all involved. Cuban-born Fernando Hernandez Ramos (pictured above, #19) top scored for Halkbank with 24 points, recording also the fastest service of the day with a speed of 119 km/h.
“We played a good match, enough to win,” said home star Gökhan Gökgöz. “We now have an advantage ahead of the re-match on Friday. We have a lot of respect for Hapoel, as we owe to any opponents that we play, so we have prepared for these two matches with as much care as possible. On Friday, we will be doing our best to perform just as we did today, since our goal is to represent Turkey in the best possible way and win this year’s Challenge Cup.”
Hapoel KFAR SABA (ISR) will have another chance on Friday to challenge the Turkish powerhouse and advance to the next round
VC Barkom-Kazhany LVIV (UKR) vs. Dinamo BUCURESTI (ROU) 2-3 (25-22, 25-19, 21-25, 22-25, 9-15)
The hosts from Lviv, making their fifth straight appearance in the European Cups this season since their debut back in 2016, were playing before empty stands due to restrictions in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The match eventually lasted for about two hours, with LVIV failing to capitalise on a 2-0 lead.
Albanian opposite hitter Anton Qafarena scored as many as 25 points for the home side, as he emerged as the best blocker of the match as well with five stuffs – as many as those scored by his teammate Yurii Semeniuk. Gabriel Cherbeleata responded for Dinamo BUCURESTI registering 25 points as well – with Bozidar Cuk adding another 21 to the tally of the visiting team. The return match will be taking place on November 11 in the Romanian capital and determine which team will progress to the next stage of the competition.
The players of Dinamo BUCURESTI celebrate their come-from-behind victory over VC Barkom-Kazhany LVIV
Latest updates on #CEVChallengeCupM 16th Finals programme:
NICOSIA (CYP) won already on Monday; KAMNIK (SLO) postponed their matches; KAZINCBARCIKA (HUN) withdrew
Elsewhere, Allianz Powervolley MILANO have already secured their spot in the 8th Finals following the withdrawal of their Latvian rivals, SK JEKABPILS Lusi. Slovenia’s Calcit Volley KAMNIK and OK Vardar SKOPJE of North Macedonia have agreed to postpone their matches initially scheduled for this week to November 17-18, while Omonia NICOSIA and another Macedonian team, Gio STRUMICA, reached a consensus on playing one match only of the two initially due to take place in Cyprus. Omonia won 3-0 on Monday before the two sides agreed to cancel the re-match on Tuesday due to additional travel restrictions that may have jeopardised the return home of Gio STRUMICA. Moreover, a number of coronavirus cases forced the cancellation of the French derby between AS CANNES VB and NANTES Rezé Métropole, with NANTES now due to host the remaining fixture on November 11.
More teams confirmed their withdrawal from the competition earlier this season citing concerns about the global health crisis. These are VRCK KAZINCBARCIKA (HUN), TIF Viking BERGEN (NOR), LAUSANNE UC (SUI), OK Partizan BEOGRAD (SRB) and Tiikerit KOKKOLA (FIN). Their respective opponents have all progressed to the 8th Finals via walkover.
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Raiffeisen Waldviertel Volleyball Team
