Four teams secured spots in #CLVolleyM quarterfinals on Super Wednesday
Recap
As many as ten matches have been played across Europe on Super Wednesday, therefore the action-packed day of the 6th Leg in the CEV Champions League Volley 2022 – Men was a real Volleyball feast. Only four teams Jastrzębski Węgiel, Dinamo Moscow, Cucine Lube Civitanova and Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia secured spots in quarterfinals before the last leg, so with no doubt there was a lot at stake on Wednesday’s night. And although, three postponed games will be played on Thursday, we already know all quarterfinalists. The four teams who entered the court with qualification in their pocket, have been joined by Berlin Recycling Volleys (winner of Pool D), Trentino Itas (2nd place in Pool E), Grupa Azoty Kędzierzyn-Koźle (2nd place in Pool C) and Zenit Saint Petersburg (2nd place in Pool D – they will play again against Berlin on Thursday, but even in case of 0-3 defeat, they will have a better set ratio than Ziraat Bankasi Ankara).
Dinamo MOSCOW vs Ziraat Bankasi ANKARA 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-21)
The busy #CLVolleyM Wednesday was opened with a clash between two top ranked teams in Pool B, unbeaten Dinamo Moscow and Ziraat Bankasi Ankara. The Russian team in front of home crowd romped to a straight-set victory after 83 minutes of play. Although, both sides didn't manage to avoid own errors (27 errors apiece!), Dinamo dominated on service line and block, having also much better reception. Tsvetan Sokolov and Yaroslav Podlesnykh topped the scorers chart with 14 and 12 points, respectively, but it was libero Lauri Kerminen to be awarded MVP of the match. He impressed with his full commitment fighting for every ball, as during the gametime, once trying to save the ball he jumped through banners and injured his leg.
Pavel Pankov"It was a game against very strong and organized team. Our service and receive were main factors of our victory. We controlled the game, but made several mistakes in the third set. It’s good, that we fixed a mistakes and then won the match."
captain of Dinamo Moscow
Bedirhan Bülbül"It was very tough game for us. Dinamo is very good team and we knew it. We tried to do our best, but couldn’t take points. Wish good luck for Dinamo."
player of Ziraat Bankasi Ankara
Sir Sicoma Monini PERUGIA vs Fenerbahce HDI ISTANBUL 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-17)
It was business like usual for Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia. The Italian team under guidance of coach Nikola Grbić seized their 6th straight-set victory in Pool E after beating Fenerbahce Istanbul at Pala Barton Perugia. The hosts dominated on the court from the opening whistle. The first set was Matthew Anderson's show, as he contributed with 9 points (70% in attack) and eventually, playing only in two sets he tallied match-high 13 points and grabbed MVP title. This match was also a great performance of Sebastian Sole, who scored 10 points, including 4 blocks. On the other side, Fenerbahce played with setting magician Marouf, but even his excellent skills was not enough to stop Perugia, who on a way to quarterfinals didn't drop a single set.
Nikola Grbić“These kind of matches are the most dangerous ones if they are not handeled in the right way. We already were on top of Pool E, they struggled to stay in the game...the risk was around the corner. The guys indeed played well. We have played improving every moment, controlling the whole match and giving all the players the opportunity to play tonight.”
head coach of Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia
Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA vs Grupa Azoty Zaksa KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE 2-3 (22-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-21, 10-15)
The clash between Cucine Lube Civitanova and Grupa Azoty Zaksa Kędzierzyn-Koźle again turned into a thrilling five-setter with Volleyball at the finest level. Even if during the first set - thanks to the results in other pools - it was already clear that the reigning #CLVolleyM champions will also progress to quarterfinals, the Polish team was extremely determined to come back home with victory. From the beginning of the match Kamil Semeniuk shone bright on the court leading the team in all sets and performing on a very high note. On the Lube's side it was Simon (22 points and 70% of success in attack) to rule over the net with almost equal efficiency, so there was no big surprise that the game went into tie-break. The fifth set started with 7-1 lead for Zaksa, but Lube was not giving up. The hosts fought hard to come back, but this time the defending #CLVolleyM champions proved too strong! Semeniuk finished the game with match-high 24 points and unbelievable 74% of efficiency in attack! Lube completed Round 4 as a pool winner with five wins and one defeat, Zaksa is 2nd with two losses (they lost to Lube and Lokomotiv).
Kamil Semeniuk"We are delighted with this win, which gives us a very important qualification for the next round of the competition, uncertain until yesterday. I couldn't even think about having to leave this fantastic competition after the first stage. This is a special evening for us, also because winning here in Civitanova Marche is, truly, a great experience."
player of Grupa Azoty Zaksa Kędzierzyn-Koźle
Gianlorenzo Blengini"I feel very satisfied about what we did in this phase of the competition, as in a difficult Pool like ours it was certainly not easy to secure the first place and therefore the qualification to the next round one game in advance. As for tonight's match, however, I think that the greatest regret is for the comeback suffered in the third set. By winning that set, the final result might have been different."
head coach of Cucine Lube Civitanova
A tie-break was also required to determine winner in the Super Match of the Week between Berlin Recycling Volleys and Zenit Saint Petersburg. The fierce battle was won by the German side, but on Thursday they will lock horns again, even if both teams already got their tickets to quarterfinals. The third five-setter was played in Pazardijk, actually this game - unexpectedly - became crucial and decisive for the fate of Zenit Saint Petersburg, as the hosts Hebar Pazardzhik defeated Knack Roeselare. In other matches, the runners up of previous edition, Trentino Itas sealed their spot in quarterfinals after upsetting 3-1 AS Cannes Dragons. Jastrzębski Węgiel seized their sixth win, beating VfB Friedrichshafen. Then, Lokomotiv Novosibirsk - ended their #CLVolleyM journey - beating in straight-sets OK Merkur Maribor and Sport Lisboa e Benfica on home soil triumphed 3-1 over Vojvodina NS Seme Novi Sad.
Visit our Match Centres to find more information.
