THY Istanbul disappoint Igor Novara in the Super Match of the Week

THY Istanbul seized an important CLVolleyW victory, after outclassing in four sets the team of Igor Gorgonzola Novara in the Super Match of the Week. As it has become a tradition in the #SuperMOTW, and to the delight of those, following the fixture, the sides that locked horns delivered a great performance, but with a great motivation, the players of head coach Marcello Abbondanza claimed the win, and saved their chances of proceeding ahead in the competition. To do so and to secure the second position in Pool C, they will have to outclass the Czech VK Dukla Liberec in the last round. However, this doesn't mean they will be sure of qualification as one of the Top 3 of the second placed teams.

The Italian powerhouse (who are already qualified) arrived in Istanbul without some of their key players due to COVID 19 (including star Ebrar Karakurt who last season was competing for THY). However, Igor put up a real fight, with birthday girl Caterina Bosetti being one of the leaders for the team on the court, together with teammate Cristina Chirichella.

On the other side of the net, THY’s American players - setter Lauren Carlini (who amazed the crowds several times throughout the match with smart plays), MVP Madi Kingdon Rishel and TeTori Dixon, led their team towards causing the first loss of Novara (who dropped their first sets this CLVolleyW season this evening). THY’s new transfer Hanna Orthmann also did a good job on the court, helping her team in some crucial moments. 

Overall, the host team delivered better performance on attacking (54 to 52), 15 kill blocks to 11, and aced the outstanding nine times (to three by Novara). 

Kingdon was named MVP of the game, with 14 points and 78% positive reception.

- Both the hosts and the guests delivered a great performance in the opener of the match. The Italian squad started a bit better, but with the set unfolding, THY got back on track. After a close call in the last minutes, the players around Marcello Abbondanza prevailed over the opponent with a great finish by the Madison Kingdon. One more kill block (three to two) and one ace turned out to be the key to the success in this part.

- Novara stormed out to a 10-4 point lead in their favour in the second set, and despite the attempts of THY to come back, the Italian powerhouse did eventually tie the set score (1-1), recording 66% efficiency on the winning spikes. Both THY and Istanbul played without many mistakes in this set.

- The hosts were able to turn things around in the third set, delivering a great comeback. THY’s new transfer Hanna Orthmann on the serving line at 12-14 was crucial for the Turkish team to come back. After a “cat and mouse game” in the last minutes of the set, the American duo TeTori Dixon and Carlini changed the course of things. Carlini delivered then the third-set finish with an aggressive and smart jump from the setter. 

- Inspired, the players of Abbondnza showed did not leave any doubts over who was better in the last set, and congratulated themselves with the win.