Graz, Austria. The season opener of this year’s CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup saw hosts UVC Holding GRAZ of Austria suffering a home loss at the hands of Turkish top club Halkbank ANKARA, whose roster includes Austrian Volleyball superstar Alexander Berger (pictured, #12). In front of 473 spectators at the Raiffeisen Sportpark, Halkbank sealed a 3-0 victory (25-16, 28-26, 25-21). Halkbank will need to take two sets from the re-match in the Turkish capital on October 15 to secure their spot in the Round of 16 and play there Hapoel KFAR SABA of Israel in early November.
The nine-time Turkish champions, CEV Cup winners in 2013 and 2014 CEV Champions League silver medallists dominated the first set; after that, the home side got into the game much better and gave the favourite a duel on equal terms. The chance of winning a set was definitely there, but in crucial situations, Berger and Co. proved to be the more stable and consistent team.
UVC Holding GRAZ scored five aces more than their opponents (6 v 1) did, but Halkbank was clearly better in attack (66% vs 44%), block (10 vs 2) and own mistakes (18 vs 27). Tiago Pereira (12) and Mark Kremer (11) top scored for the home side, as Gökhan Gökgöz (17) and Fernando Hernandez Ramos (11) set the pace for the visitors. Berger contributed nine points to the away win of his team. For the 32-year-old from Upper Austria, it was the first appearance at club level in his home country after moving to play abroad back in 2014.
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CEV – European Volleyball
ÖVV – Volleyball Austria
UVC Holding Graz
