ŁKS emerge victorious from rollercoaster five-setter, VakifBank with second win
Report
The competition in the Pool C of the 4th Round of the CEV Champions League Volley - Women continued on Wednesday at Kolodruma Sport Hall in Plovdiv. The first game of the day turned out to be a thrilling five-setter, which ended after 141 minutes with victory of ŁKS Commercecon ŁÓDŹ over hosting team VC Maritza PLOVDIV. In the second match, the four-time #CLVolleyW champion VakifBank ISTANBUL smashed the ASPTT MULHOUSE VB in straight sets. The Haak sister rivalry added some spice to this match, as not often in the Champions League we see sisters playing on different sides of the net.
VC Maritza PLOVDIV (BUL) vs ŁKS Commercecon ŁÓDŹ (POL)
2-3 (18-25; 25-20; 25-20; 17-25; 10-15)
Pool C
The game between two teams who suffered defeats on the opening day became a real roller-coaster. VC Maritza PLOVDIV and ŁKS Commercecon ŁÓDŹ entered the court very motivated. At the beginning of the game lead was changing back and forth, but from 11-10 LKS built a significant advantage closing this part 25-18. VC Maritza PLOVDIV completely recovered in the second set, improving and controlling the game, thus they jumped to 5-point-lead already in early stage. They kept the momentum taking second and third set easily. ŁKS reborn in the fourth part, which they opened taking 6-0 lead and they kept score safe till the end. Tie-break was needed to determine winner. ŁKS being on a winning wave closed the game with third match point 15-12.
• Aleksandra Wojcik of ŁKS Commercecon ŁÓDŹ was named the MVP of the game after scoring 26 points (21 attacks, 1 ace, 4 blocks)
• The best scorer of VC Maritza PLOVDIV was Aleksandra Milanova (23 points)
• In set three, LKS’s coach Giuseppe Cuccarini took time-out after the very first rally, which Maritza won with a successful off-the-block spike by Miroslava Paskova (who tallied 6 points in the second set only)
• Maritza PLOVDIV performed more successful attacks than ŁKS (61 to 59), once ŁKS dominated in block (19 to 12)
Lazar Lazarov"This was a very good match for us psychologically. Any loss, but especially in a prestigious competition like the Champions League, especially in the first match and especially at home, is a heavy psychological burden. I congratulate all the girls and all our staff for managing to free our heads from it and show the volleyball we know how to play."
Head coach of Maritza Plovdiv
Giuseppe Cuccarini"It was very tough, because Maritza played very well. They played smart attack - not so powerful, but spiking off the block or finding the small holes in our defence. My players didn't react quickly to this situation. Luckily, once they understood this, it was a little bit easier for us. Congratulations to Maritza, because they defend really, really well - not only the libero, but all the players."
head coach of LKS Commercecon Lodz
ASPTT MULHOUSE VB (FRA) vs VakifBank ISTANBUL (TUR)
0-3 (18-25; 16-25; 18-25)
Pool C
Star-studded favourites of the Pool C - VakifBank ISTANBUL record a perfect start of their 19th campaign. After winning yesterday in straight sets, today they accomplished the same feat defeating ASPTT MULHOUSE VB. Turkish powerhouse controlled the game from the beginning till the last point, however both teams showed some great rallies. This game had some additional charm - family rivalry. Once Isabelle Haak is one of the brightest stars in Giovanni Guidetti's squad her older sister Anna plays for ASPTT MULHOUSE VB. Isabella Haak is a double winner, as not only her team emerge victorious, but also she grabbed the individual MVP award.
• In the first set VakifBank scored as many as 6 points from block.
• In set two we witnessed uncommon situation - ASPTT setter Madison Bugg scored a point from attack.
• Isabelle Haak was named the MVP after scoring match-high 17 points with 59% of success in attack. She also scored a point closing the match.
• ASPTT Mulhouse VB's top scorers were Laetitia Moma Bassoko and Tessa Polder with 10 points.
• Two Swedish sisters are on different sides of the net in this match. While Isabelle Haak plays for VakifBank, her older sister Anna is a member of the ASPTT Mulhouse squad.
• VakifBank achieved its 157th victory in the Champions League.
Giovanni Guidetti''I'm very happy because we are playing really great quality volleyball. ASPTT Mulhouse are a good team and very physical, but when we play our best it's very difficult to play against us. So I'm pretty happy that the team is improving in that way.''
Head coach of VakifBank Istanbul
Francois Salvagni"We played close to our limits and against Maja Ognjenovic you cannot play your best as it's VakifBank, so we are happy and I'm proud of my team. We made great job in serve, block and defense. I'm very very happy. I think that yesterday and today we made a big step to reach our target. So it was a great game."
Head coach of ASPTT MULHOUSE VB
Thursday will be a third and the last day of the first tournament in the Pool C of the 4th Round of the CEV Champions League Volley - Women with ASPTT MULHOUSE VB facing ŁKS Commercecon ŁÓDŹ (17:00 CET) and VC Maritza PLOVDIV taking on VakifBank ISTANBUL (19:30 CET). The second tournament will be held in Łódź in February 2021.