Fenerbahce and Imoco stay unbeaten in CLVolleyW. 2023 CLVolleyM SuperFinalists suffered surprising defeats
The 5th leg of the CEV Champions League Volley 2024 was completed on Thursday night with four women and three men's thrilling matches played across Europe. Two powerhouses Fenerbahce Opet Istanbul and A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano confirmed their supremacy in their respective pools, earning their fifth wins to keep the perfect record and already secured the pool victories. The Turkish team led by head coach Stefano Lavarini showed no mercy to Calcit Kamnik and still haven't dropped a single set in this campaign, once the Italians under the guidance of Daniele Santarelli completely overpower Asterix Avo Beveren. Volleyball fans could also witness some surprises that night in the #CLVolleyM as the 2023 SuperFinalists suffered unexpected defeats.
Calcit Kamnik - Fenerbahce Opet Istanbul 0-3 (21-25, 17-25, 19-25)
Calcit sparked by their home crowd at Sportna Dvorana Tivoli in Ljubljana started the game with no fear. Brave plays from Masa Pucelj and Andelka Radiskovic, who gave the local favourites a lead 12-8 and then 14-10, putting some pressure on Fenerbahce. Coach Lavarini decided then for some changes in line-up that helped his team to catch the right rhythm. His team tied at 17-17, starting their march for victory in the first set 25-21. Ana Cristina de Souza contributed only in the opener with 8 points (including 2 blocks and 9 winning spikes).
Although Calcit Kamnik tried their best to stop the Turkish giants, their efforts were not enough. Fenerbahce, even without Magdalena Stysiak and Eda Erdem on the court, dominated in all components. Ana Cristina could count on scoring support from Arina Fedorovtseva (6 points in the second set), but the Brazilian opposite was the undisputed hero of the night. She tallied 19 points (3 blocks, 1 ace, 15 spikes - 48% success in attack) and was named the MVP. On the other side of the net Masa Pucelj scored 11. Block was Fenerbahce's powerful weapon as they recorded 11 block stuffs.
Fenerbahce kept the clean sheet - they still haven't dropped a single set! - and with five victories and 15 points to their name they already secured a pool win.
Ana Cristina Menezes Oliveira de Souza“We started slower, the coach mixed up the line-up a bit, but then we found our game and continued to play much better. I think we played a good game, the block was our strong weapon."
MVP and player of Fenerbahce
Bruno Najdič'We came out with a very brave, quality effort, which I like. I am very pleased. Unfortunately, we had a few bad moments in each set, when a team with such quality as Fenerbahçe, makes that advantage, which is then difficult to catch. Again, there were certain situations that we could and should have played better, but that's always the case in every match. From this point of view, I'm happy with how we played the match and I'm happy that we gave the Turks a decent resistance."
head coach of Calcit Kamnik
Asterix Avo Beveren - A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano 0-3 (11-25, 14-25, 14-25)
A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano from the beginning of the game dominated on the court at Topsporthal Beveren. Coach Daniele Santarelli decided to play the entire game with his greatest stars, giving the fans an opportunity to watch their finest plays. With Joanna Wołosz on playmaking duty (59% of team attack), Isabelle Haak shone bright, tallying in total 22 points with 73% of success in attack! The Swedish queen served 3 aces and recorded 3 blocking stuffs and 16 winning spikes, earning another MVP award to her collection. Kathryn Plummer also was almost unstoppable in attack (77% in attack - 10 of 13 attacks won), once Khalia Lanier impressed with her serving performance as also she served 3 aces (8 points in total). On Beveren's side Iris Vos scored 8.
Also Imoco with their Thursday's performance confirmed supremacy in Pool D and with five wins and 15 points to their name they already secured a pool win.
On Thursday two other #CLVolleyW games were played, both in Pool E. ŁKS Commercecon Łódź earned an away 3-0 win (25-16, 25-20, 25-14) over CS Alba Blaj, once SC Prometey Dnipro celebrated 3-1 (25-20, 25-13, 24-26, 25-16) home victory over Volero Le Cannet.
The #CLVolleyM games delivered big surprises, especially for the Polish clubs and their fans. The 2023 SuperFinalists Grupa Azoty Kędzierzyn-Koźle and Jastrzębski Węgiel lost their games. The three-time #CLVolleyM champions from Kędzierzyn-Koźle were upset by Olympiacos Piraeus, who in front of home crowd won 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-22). Jastrzębski Węgiel also suffered an away upset - their first defeat in this campaign. Guaguas Las Palmas prevailed 3-1 (25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 25-15). While, Vk Lvi Praha beat 3-1 Greenyard Maaseik (22-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-13).