Igor comes from behind in set three to shut out Zvezda
Recap
Igor Gorgonzola Novara bounced back from its straight-set defeat at the hands of Turkiye’s VakifBank Istanbul to shut out Crvena Zvezda Belgrade in a fourth-leg match of the women’s CEV Champions League Volley 2023 pool stage on Tuesday. The Italian squad pleased the home crowd with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-22) sweep of Crvena Zvezda Belgrade. It was Igor’s third victory in the pool and it stands second on 9 points. The Serbian side has yet to win a game and trail at the bottom of the table with 1 point.
Although Crvena Zvezda took the first couple of points in the match, the home side quickly established full domination on the court. Led by a perfect Anna Danesi with an ace, a stuff block and three kills at 100% in attack, Igor opened a wide gap, which American outside hitter McKenzie Adams finalized with a successful spike for 25-17.
With Generation O Turkish opposite Ebrar Karakurt leading the way, Igor stepped up its blocking efforts in the second set and mastered an even more convincing result, closing the set at a 10-point margin on a long hit from Crvena Zvezda to double its lead.
It was time for the Serbian team to fight back. Zvezda stormed the third set on a 3-0 run and although the Italians managed to catch up twice, the visitors kept the pressure, with opposite Tara Taubner on fire at the net. They widened their lead to as many as six points at 17-11 before the girls from Novara started their big comeback. After 20-22, Igor went on a five-point spree, with sub-in opposite Julia Ituma monster-blocking for the match winner at 25-22.
Three players scored in double digits on the winning side. Right on her 23rd birthday, Ebrar Karakurt delivered the match high of 13 points, while McKenzie Adams contributed 12. Anna Danesi added another 11, including three kill blocks and two aces, and registered a 75% success rate in attack, enough to claim the Most Valuable Player award. On Crvena Zvezda’s side, Tara Taubner also finished with 11 points.
Anna Danesi“We did very well in the first two sets, but then we made too many mistakes in the third. Howvere, in the end, we could come back and close the game. It is an important victory for us. We want to secure a spot in the playoff phase and we will keep pushing in the last two games of our pool.”
Middle blocker of Igor Gorgonzola Novara, MVP of the match
Ratko Pavlicevic“I am proud of my team. We could have done something better in the first two sets and maybe we can regret a little that we couldn’t make the game longer after a very good start in the third set. Congratulations to Novara! In the end, their attackers made the difference while we experienced more difficulties with passing. Our girls did their best, so I am satisfied with their performance.”
Head coach of Crvena Zvezda Belgrade