Italian party on the last night of the Champions League quarterfinals
News
On Thursday, February 29th, we could celebrate #1DayMore4Volleyball in various ways, however four #CLVolleyW teams - A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano, VakifBank Istanbul, Allianz Vero Volley Milano and ŁKS Commercecon Łódź and two #CLVolleyM clubs Trentino Itas and Berlin Recycling Volleys, who battled it out for the last spots in the semifinals made this special day even more exciting, especially for the Italian sides as it turned to be the Italian night. Imoco knocked out the defending champions from VakifBank Istanbul and later were joined by Allianz Vero Volley Milano in the #CLVolleyW semifinals. Once Trentino Itas completed the list of the #CLVolleyM semifinalists, upsetting Berlin Recycling Volleys.
A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano vs VakifBank Istanbul 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-16)
After earning a 3-1 victory last week in Istanbul, Imoco Conegliano put one foot in the semifinals, being in need for two more sets to seal the deal. In a sold out Palaverde, in front of 5000 spectators, two Volleyball giants locked horns once again, delivering a thrilling battle in quest for a spot in the semifinals.
The beginning of the game was a fierce race. Both teams were fully aware that's a do-or-die time and tried to show their very best. A point-by-point race in the opener lasted to 17-17, then VakifBank jumped to a 20-17 lead after Alexandra Frantti's attack. American duo Jordan Thompson and Chiaka Ogbogu also spread their wings, scoring 5 points apiece in this part and it was Ogbogu's block to close the first set.
The second set looked very similar, both teams kept the pace, this time up until 18-18. After Isabelle Haak's attack, Kathryn Plummer went to the service line and stayed there until the end of the set. Imoco's unbelievable streak from 18-18 to 25-18 was a trigger. Worth to mention that in the second set the block became a powerful weapon in the hands of Imoco's players, who scored 7 points in this skill.
The team around coach Danieel Santarelli kept the momentum, controlling the situation on the court in the third set. Perfect work on the service line by Robinson accompanied by great efforts in the block, moved Conegliano to 15-11 leaving VakifBank speechless for a moment. But then Gabi tried to spark back her team, levelling the score at 16-16. Unfortunately for the defending champions it was not enough to stop Conegliano, who regained control and after a perfect spike from Haak they could already celebrate earning a spot in the semifinals.
The hosts were determined to quickly grab a victory, dominating in the fourth set thanks to great spikes from Sarah Fahr (5 points in this set) and Isabelle Haak (6 points). The MVP award went to Kathryn Plummer, who was Imoco's second best scorer with 16 points (2 aces, 2 blocks, 12 winning attacks - 57% of success). Isabelle Haak topped the scorers' chart with 19, once on Vakifbank's side Gabi tallied 13. In the semifinals Imoco will face another team from Istanbul - Eczacibasi.
Kathryn Plummer“It was a very great battle, like always against a team such as Vakifbank, I think the elements that take us to the win were mainly the resilience we put in after losing the first set and also also the fact that we were playing here at palaverde and making our fans happy, so I’m very happy for the win e for the qualification to the semifinals.”
MVP, player of Imoco Conegliano
Allianz Vero Volley Milano vs ŁKS Commercecon Łódź 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-23)
At Allianz Cloud Milano, Allianz Vero Volley also needed to win two sets to achieve for the first time in their history the CLVolleyW semifinals. In front of the home crowd they quickly ran away with the score (8-2; 21-16), successfully blocking ŁKS (7 block stuffs in the opener). The leaders of the team, a bit unexpectedly, were Raphaela Folie and Laura Heyrman (5 and 7 points, respectively).
ŁKS couldn't find an answer to Milano's game, committing many own mistakes in the second set (7 errors). The team around Marco Gaspari built a big advantage (16-8) in the middle of the set with their solid performance. Alessia Orro distributed the balls to all of her teammates, leading a well-balanced game and thus they could also enjoy a little celebration already after the second set. The third part turned out to be the most competitive, however Milano smoothly dotted the i's. MVP award was handed to Raphaela Folie who had 13 points to her name (4 blocks and 9 killing spikes - 82% success in attack). ŁKS's Valentina Diouf was the top scorer with 15 points. In the semifinal Milano will face Fenerbahce Istanbul.
Raphaela Folie“Qualifying for the semi-finals was obviously our goal and victory this evening means a lot. In both matches we played a good game and tonight, despite them trying to give us a hard time, we all did well, especially at the end of the sets. We are very happy and now we await Fenerbahçe."
MVP, player of Allianz Vero Volley Milano
Alessandro Chiappini“It wasn't our best match. We showed a good attitude in the first and third sets, while we had more difficulty in the second. Milan really put a lot of pressure on us; they were very solid, they demonstrated it throughout the match: they are a team with important values."
head coach of ŁKS Commercecon Łódź
Trentino Itas - Berlin Recycling Volleys 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-22)
On Thursday night there was only one last spot in the CLVolleyM semifinals at stake. The three-time Champions League winners - Trentino Itas had a solid advantage after the first quarterfinal leg (3-0) and they were determined to seal the deal as quickly as possible. At ilT quotidiano Arena TRENTO, Trentino, powered by their star Alessandro Michieletto, who only in the opener scored 8 points (67% success in attack), controlled the game, having as their strength also the block (5 stuffs in the first set). Although Berlin Recycling Volleys did their best to extend their chances to stay in competition - Tobias Krick and Marek Sotola impressed with their spiking performances - it was not enough to oppose the Italian powerhouse, who completed the quarterfinal stage without dropping a single set. Kamil Rychlicki was the best scorer with 10 points, but the MVP award went to Alessandro Michieletto with 9 points (2 blocks, 7 winning attacks with 54% success). Marek Sotola with 9 points was Berlin's best scorer.
In the semifinal Trentino will face another Italian team - Cucine Lube Civitanova.
Alessandro Michieletto"We are very happy for the qualification obtained tonight against Berlin, a great team, but we wanted too much to return among the first four of Europe".
MVP, player of Trentino Itas
Fabio Soli"It was one of our goals to win the semifinal, we did it and we are happy to have done it by rotating all the players. Many important matches await us from now on, but we will try to be ready".
head coach of Trentino Itas
Tobias Krick“I think that our champions league campaign was good, but trento was just better than us and we need to accept that. We tried our best but it wasn’t enough.”
player of Berlin Recycling Volleys
Joel Banks"When the dust settles tonight or tomorrow morning, we can look back on a successful Champions League campaign. We battled through a tough group and then had two very solid wins against Tours, which shouldn't be overlooked. Now we faced Trentino and - we have to be honest - this team wasn't just one level better than us. We had to realize that we had reached our limits. Great respect to this strong opponent."
head coach of Berlin Recycling Volleys