Top moments to remember from CLVolleyW in 2023
Feature
As 2023 draws to a close, we are looking back towards the best moments of the year in volleyball in the most important European competitions, both for clubs and countries. We continue our yearly review with the best moments of the CEV Champions League 2023 Women, which produced several interesting moments, which kept fans gripped.
VakifBank write another page of history
The last team to have achieved back-to-back wins CEV Champions League Women was VakifBank Istanbul, in 2017 and 2018, and the Turkish powerhouse did not disappoint, clinching another trophy, their sixth in history, with a 3:1 win in the final against archrivals Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Istanbul, after a see-saw season.
VakifBank sealed their sixth title in history and their sixth in the last 12 seasons, becoming clearly one of the dominating sides in the European premium competition, with an excellent performance in the business end of the season, despite some issues early in the opening stages.
The Turkish side conceded two losses in the pool phase against Igor Gorgonzola Novara, then went on to take two clear 3:0 wins against LKS Lodz, as they went into the quarter-finals. Two more wins against Vero Volley Milano brought VakifBank closer to the title, but they needed a golden set – more about that later – against Fenerbahçe Opet Istanbul, to seal their ticket in the SuperFinals in Turin against Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Istanbul.
With a dominating performance, albeit losing a set against Eczacibasi, VakifBank proved to be the strongest team in the competition, taking a 3:1 win, as they now trail only Dynamo Moscow (11 wins), Uralochka Ekaterinburg (eight wins) and Volley Bergamo (seven wins) in the all-time standings of the European premium competition.
Exquisite show in the SuperFinals
The SuperFinals in Turin were another fantastic moment of the CEV Champions League 2023 Women, as 10.447 spectators flocked to see a fantastic match between VakifBank and Eczacibasi – two of the three Turkish teams which went into the semi-finals last season – another sign that these sides are currently dominating the European premium competition.
Over 110 minutes, the two sides traded blows and after a 27:25 win in the first set from VakifBank, Eczacibasi saw themselves in a big hole, conceding the second set, 17:25. As Tijana Boskovic scored 16 points throughout the match, Eczacibasi cut the lead in the third set, 25:23, but conceded the fourth and the final, 17:25.
However, VakifBank could not have done it without the help of opposite Paola Egonu, who scored 40 points and was virtually unstoppable, shining on the court in Turin, in her home country, in a vintage performance in the most important game of the season, a benchmark for the future.
Third MVP title for Egonu
Egonu was a one-year rental for VakifBank, coming from A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano, as she has already left after that stupendous performance in the SuperFinals, coming back to Italy, where she is now plying her trade for Vero Volley Allianz Milano. However, the season she had for VakifBank was one for the ages, providing excellent performances not only in the SuperFinals against Eczacibasi, but throughout the whole competition.
Her performances were rewarded with the MVP title in the CEV Champions League Women, her third such individual award, after the ones in 2019 and 2021, when she secured the distinction while playing for AGIL Novara and A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano respectively.
Egonu become only the second player in history to be named the MVP of the CEV Champions League Women three times, after middle blocker Victoria Ravva managed that feature in 2002, 2003 and 2006, as the Italian superstar is still coming of age, being only 25 years old.
A match for the ages
There were plenty of exciting moments in last season’s CEV Champions League Women, but the highlight was undoubtedly the crucial clash in the semi-finals between VakifBank and Fenerbahçe Opet Istanbul, an all-Turkish encounter, which produced copious amounts of drama and excitement, with twists and turns throughout every part of the doubleheader.
First, Fenerbahçe took the first leg by storm, taking a clear 3:0 win (25:10, 25:23, 25:20), leaving VakifBank in a rut, as Melissa Vargas shone with 19 points, while Egonu was limited to only 17 points, roughly 33% of VakifBank’s total points.
In the second leg, though, VakifBank powered to a 3:0 win (25:22, 25:14, 25:22), as Egonu (21 points) was helped by the previous MVP of the competition, Gabi Guimaraes (18 points), pushing the match into the golden set. Eventually, VakifBank, who led 5:3, 10:9 and 12:11, had enough in the tank to eliminated their rivals, with a 15:12 win that saw them cruise to the SuperFinals.
Excellent numbers for SuperFinals and CEV Champions League Women
The SuperFinals in Turin provided hugely interesting matches, both for the men’s and the women’s competitions, with the Pala Alpitour in the Italian city seeing 10.447 spectators in the arena, from 47 countries, which flocked to see the best matches of the season, with the European premium competition trophies decernated.
With 28 broadcasters throughout the world, millions tuned in to see the matches on TV, while on social media, there were 20 million impressions and 3 million digital views on CEV’s different social media channels, proving once again that the European premium competition is a huge magnet for the volley fans.