Reigning #CLVolleyM champions from Kędzierzyn Koźle emerge victorious in Novosibirsk
Report
On Tuesday, the second leg of the Round 4 of the CEV Champions League Volley 2022 - Men was inaugurated at Regional Volleyball Center NOVOSIBIRSK with a clash between Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK and the reigning champions Grupa Azoty Zaksa KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE. Even if emotions ran super high in Russia, as both sides created a thrilling show for all Volleyball fans, the hosts didn't manage to find a way to stop the defending champions who earned a 3-1 victory and stay unbeaten in Pool C.
Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK (RUS) vs Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE 1–3 (19-25, 25-21, 24-26, 23-25)
The defending champions Grupa Azoty Zaksa Kędzierzyn-Koźle started the game with full confidence, putting a lot of pressure with their serve and this element became the key to win the opening set (3 aces). The hosting team struggled in reception and couldn't find a way to stop Zaksa, who took an early lead 7-3 and improved it further to 12-5. The home crowd tried to spark their favourites back to life, but Novosibirsk only managed to shorten the distance to three points at 21-18. But then Zaksa pushed the rival even harder and Śliwka's block on Luburić closed the set.
Lokomotiv quickly banished memories from the first set and perfectly started the next part with three-point early lead. The defending champions were not able to avoid own mistakes (10 own errors in the second set), giving a helping hand to their rivals, but either way managed to tie at 9-9 and the game was continued on a point-by-point basis. But in the decisive part of the set, Lokomotiv powered by Luburić and Perrin easily grabbed a set win.
Irritated after losing the set, Grupa Azoty Zaksa Kędzierzyn-Koźle pulled their muscles, visibly improving their games and taking a solid 11-5 lead which they kept until 20-14. Then, Lokomotiv led by valiant Lubirić and Savin started to chase the score impressively. With his teammates playing really well from the middle, the hosts didn't waste any chance to score and eventually tied at 23-23, but Zaksa used the second to set ball to take 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set had a very competitive beginning, but then, Zaksa ran away with the score. Reaching a five-point lead at 15-10 they kept it safe until 20-14, but Lokomotiv didn't give up. Earning four consecutive points with Savin on serve, they reduced the distance to two points and got even closer at 21-20. The defending champions scored three in a row, but didn't manage to close the match immedietely as Lokomotiv chased them back again. Using the second match ball, Zaksa closed the game with Śliwka's spike.
Łukasz Kaczmarek scored match-high 23 points and was awarded with MVP award. Drazen Luburić tallied 16 and was a top scorer of the host team.
Aleksander ŚliwkaWe had a long journey to Novosibirsk and we had to switch time zone, so it was not easy for us, but we came here three days before the game to adjust and to feel more comfortable. The atmosphere here was very good and it was a pleasure to play here, this new hall is amazing. We are happy that we got three-point win. The game was really tough, because Novosibirsk is a very good team. We could win it with bigger margin, but Novosibirsk fought hard and it was really hard to get these three points.
captain of Grupa Azoty Zaksa Kędzierzyn Koźle
Pavel KruglovIt was the first home game of the #CLVolleyM 2022 for us at the arena and atmosphere was great. It's a pity that we lost the match. But it proved again that you need to start playing from the very first balls in any set, from the score 0-0. Today we only did it in the second set, in others we let the opponent to run ahead with 3-4 points. In the endings, like superheroes we tried to win, but this was not enough. It gave us a good lesson. Kedzierzyn-Kozle made few mistakes, practically nothing.
captain of Lokomotiv Novosibirsk
