Vero Volley and Projekt Warszawa stay unbeaten in CLVolleyM
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On Tuesday night two thrilling clashes featuring the unbeaten leaders of Pool A and Pool B opened the last leg of the CEV Champions League Volley played in 2024 to start the return games in the Round 4. Projekt Warszawa in front of home crowd earned an emphatic win against ACH Volley Ljubljana, while Vero Volley Monza and Fenerbahce Medicana Istanbul battled hard throughout four sets, eventually the Italian team prevailed to grab their fourth win.
Vero Volley MONZA vs Fenerbahce Medicana ISTANBUL 3-1 (25:23, 25:21, 23:25, 25:20)
The clash at Opiquad Arena Monza from the beginning was a tight battle that electrified fans. The opening set started slightly better for Fenerbahce Istanbul powered by Drazen Luburic. However, Pool B leaders and the hosts of this encounter in the decisive part of the set made it up and from 17-17 with a service run from Erik Rohrs they jumped to 21-17 lead. The guests tried to fight back, but Ivan Zaytsev's spike closed the opener.
Arthur Szwarc, who was one Monza's top scorer, became the team leader in the second set, impressing with 75% success in attack (6 kills). Although Fenerbahce played well in the block it was still not enough to stop Vero Volley's top duo - Szwarc & Zaytsev. It looked that the host would take again a straight-set win, they opened the third set 3-0 with Zaytsev service run, but despite a convincing start to the set, Fenerbahce kept pushing. Drazen Luburic was the first choice of Fabian Drzyzga and he contributed with 8 points, having big merits in Fenerbahce's win in the third set along with Ahmet Baltaci, who scored 4 points, including 4 blocks.
Even if Fenerbahce managed to extend the game, Vero Volley was determined to add another three points in the standings. Enhancing their service and block performance (3 aces and 3 blocks in this part) and powered by Szwarc, who recorded stunning 80% success in attack, Vero Volley sealed the deal after ace serve from Szwarc. The Canadian opposite, with no doubt, was a hero of the local team and there was no surprise that the MVP award was presented to him. Szwarc hammered 24 points, including 3 aces, 2 blocks and 19 kills at 73% success in attack. He was followed by Ivan Zaytsev with 17 points and Thomas Beretta with 10. Fenerbahce's top scorer Drazen Luburic tallied 23 points (3 aces, 20 kills - 42% success).
Vero Volley Monza with four wins is unbeaten leader of Pool B, while Fenerbahce suffering two defeats from Monza stay behind their back, being ranked 2nd.
Massimo Eccheli"Today's match was a delicate one given the situation we are in; the fact that we beat a team that has improved over the last month and even won in Athens is a great satisfaction for us. This also means that we are getting closer to our goal in the Champions League, which is to advance to the next round”.
head coach of Vero Volley Monza
Arthur Szwarc“It was a tough match tonight. We gave our all, and after the difficult period we experienced in the league, we are very happy to be back to winning ways”
player of Vero Volley Monza, MVP
Denis Karyagin“It was a difficult match for us; we didn't take our chances. Obviously, we lost, but we will focus on what we did well and work on what we can still improve”
player of Fenerbahce Medicana Istanbul
Slobodan Kovac“I'm sorry because we didn't take advantage of the bad moment Monza is going through; I'm also sorry because a few days ago we put in a good performance and did beautiful things. At one point in the game only Luburic was putting the ball on the floor and it became easy for Monza to stop him”
head coach of of Fenerbahce Medicana Istanbul
PGE Projekt Warszawa - ACH Volley Ljubljana 3-0 (25:23, 25:13, 25:17)
In front of the 3000 fans at Torwar Hall COS in Warsaw, Projekt Warszawa was determined to extend their winning streak in this edition of the CLVolleyM. The hosts were favourites in the encounter against ACH Volley Ljubljana, however the Slovenian club was the only opponent in Pool A, who managed to steal the set from Projekt. The opening set was the most competitive, as it turned out later, the team from Warszawa was led by Artur Szalpuk, who only in the first part tallied 9 points and was strongly supported with Linus Weber who scored 6. Ljubljana tried to keep up the pace with solid performance in all elements - Amir Golzadeh, Saso Stalekar and Jan Pokersnik were the brightest points in the Slovenian team - but during the entire set they stayed a few steps behind.
Next two parts were completely dominated by Warszawa. The players around coach Piotr Graban were unstoppable in set 2, recording 81% team success in attack and adding to it 6 killing blocks. Jan Firlej, who was on playmaking duty, could freely deliver the ball to his teammates. The main scorers in this part were Germans - Linus Weber and Tobias Brand. No less impressive was their performance in the third set - Szalpuk, Brand and Weber contributed with 5 points apiece, once on the other side of the net we witnessed an atypical situation, having only one player scoring - Golzadeh (6 points). Thus, Projekt after 76 minutes of play could celebrate their fourth victory.
MVP award went to Tobias Brand, who tallied 13 points, having an excellent performance in all skills (2 aces, 2 blocks, 67% positive receptions and 60% success in attack). A match-high 16 points was scored by Szalpik (3 aces, 1 block, 12 kills - 71% success and 40% positive receptions), while Linus Weber finished the game with 14 points to his name. Ljubljana still have to wait for their first win and their top scorer Amir Golzadeh tallied 13 points in this game.