CEV, Luxembourg. With matches from the 2nd Round of the CEV Champions League Volley Women now underway, we are getting closer to a complete lineup for the highly anticipated 4th Round, where the best teams in Europe will face each other. In action today was also Pool E of CEV Champions League Volley Men, as the tournament for this last remaining Pool from the 1st Round kicked off in Amriswil, Switzerland.
As always, all matches from Europe’s premiere club volleyball competition are being streamed live on CEV’s EuroVolley.TV.
The first match of the day saw the Italians from Savino Del Bene Scandicci take on the Ukrainians from Khimik Yuzhny (3-0/ 25-15, 26-24, 25-12) in what is considered the home match of this 2nd Round battle. A clear and convincing win for the Italians that sees them in pole position for taking the spot in the 4th Round. The second match of the day took place in Lodz Sport Arena, as the Polish team of LKS Commercecon Lodz hosted Calcit Volley Kamnik from Slovenia (3-0/ 25-18, 25-11, 25-17).
- Magdalena Stysiak had a fantastic game for Savino, scoring 16 points, with 2 Aces
- Savino Del Bene wa dominant at the net, outscoring Khimik Yuzhny in killing blocks 14-2
- Katarina Lazovic was Lodz’s best player in the match, scoring 15 points with 6 Aces
Massimo Barbolini, head coach Savino Del Bene Scandicci: “A good Savino Del Bene. We took the first step, but we haven’t done anything yet because in this formula what matters is tomorrow. Obviously, winning the first leg 3-0 is always better than losing 3-2 or 3-1. Tomorrow everything has to be redone, we have to play well. Tonight we realized that we play with a team that has limits, but that if we help, as we did in the second set with 12 mistakes, it is normal for them to play the game. They don’t play volleyball at all badly, they defend well. I liked how we reacted in the third set, reacting to the lesson of the second. This is something we have to get used to doing.”
Dimitri Maryukhnich, assistant coach Khimik Yuzhny: “A very difficult game in Scandicci, obviously we know that the best teams are very strong. Physically they are taller and stronger than we are. We were ready for this game, we were prepared, and we showed it in the second set. With 2 or 3 points concluded differently the game could have been different. Some of our mistakes changed the result in favor of the opposing team. We had a reception equal to Savino Del Bene, despite the strong service from Scandicci. In the third set we didn’t play as expected from our game play, we made some mistakes. However, everything will be decided tomorrow and we will be ready for the match. I think we will be more aggressive and focused.”
On the other hand, Pool E of the Men’s first round kicked off in thrilling fashion with Shakhtior Soligorsk BLR and Lindaren Volley Amriswil SUI (3-2/ 22-25, 18-25, 25-13, 25-16, 8-15) offering quite the treat for the neutral volleyball fans following the action on EuroVolley.TV.
- The Swiss hosts of the tournament clinched the first two sets only for the tables to turn from then onwards for a more dominating Shakhtior to get the win
- Best Player of the match was Shakhtior’s Maksim Shkredau, who managed to score 22 points
- Both teams will now be facing the highly experienced team of of VC Greenyard Maaseik in decisive matchups
