Fenerbahce and Conegliano march on without losing a set

A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO are only one match away from a perfect record in the 4th Round, as the Italian team recorded another victory without losing a single set. Competing against the second leg hosts VB NANTES, Italians brought in Paola Egonu back to the line-up, who unsurprisingly was the top scorer of the match with 21 points. Nantes suffered another loss on the home court, remaining third in Pool B and are down to face Calcit Volley KAMNIK on their last day of the competition. Fenerbahçe Opet ISTANBUL secure a second straight-set victory in the second leg of 4th Round of the competition, beating Calcit Volley KAMNIK. Turkish team keeps a strong second position in Pool B, having now 12 points in the table, while Kamnik are facing their last chance to win a game in the Champions League, as they will be facing hosts VB Nantes on Thursday.

Conegliano approached the match bringing back Robin De Kruijf, Kimberly Hill and Paola Egonu into the line-up, after all three players rested on Tuesday night when their team faced Calcit Volley KAMNIK. Italians led the opening set from its first minutes, but the major point gap was achieved when Loveth Omoruyi stepped on the service line, allowing her team to go from 14-16 to 14-18 ahead. Conegliano finished the set 20-25, with Paola Egonu establishing herself as the top scorer already. Nantes seemed to hold on closer to the Italian club at the beginning of the second set, closing on a three-point gap at 14-14. Conegliano regained their control once more, patiently increasing the point difference until the set finished 20-25. The last set was probably the most competitive between both sides as Nantes caught up with every single point-gap achieved by the Italians. The French chased the score from 18-23 to 23-23, putting Conegliano at the brink of losing their perfect score in this edition of the Champions League. Both teams continued point by point until Italians eventually ended the match at 24-26.

• It was the gala game this Wednesday evening for the VB Nantes, in their gymnasium of Mangin Beaulieu behind closed doors.

• Coach Cyril Ong’s players had the honour to face Imoco Conegliano, club world champion and big favourite in this Champions League competition this season. Already in the same group last season, the two teams faced their fourth clash this evening since December 2019, with the same final outcome on the scoreboard (3-0 for Conegliano).

• With the excellent performance in the cast of Imoco volleyball, Joanna Wolosz was awarded the title of MVP of the game. 

• For their part, as during the tournament in December in Italy, the VB Nantes team while having nothing to play for in this competition, will be keen to win against the formation of Calcit Volley Kamnik, tomorrow at 18:00 local time. 

Fenerbahce opened the match with a strong hit, taking a seven-point gap from the first points, at 8-1. Circumstances did not change in the favour of Kamnik, as Fenerbahce patiently extended the gap to 16-5 and 21-7, after seizing the opening set at 25-13. Melissa Vargas led the scoreboard once more, while Lucille Charuk scored 5 out of 13 points that Kamnik achieved in the first set.
Slovenian team responded in the second set, taking their first in the match lead at 3-5, but the good beginning didn’t last long when Fenerbahce went 8-6 ahead. Though with a smaller point gap, Turkish club remained in the driving seat, winning the second set 25-18. Similarly to the previous set, the third one opened with a small lead by Kamnik, but this time the game continued point by point between both teams. Slovenians took over again at 11-13, keeping the two-point lead until 14-16, and yet they couldn’t maintain it for much longer when Fenerbahce jumped to 20-18 after one of the longest rallies of the match by that point. The Turkish were determined to keep control over the rest of the match as they sealed the deal at 25-20.

• Surprised by the players of Calcit Volley Kamnik, who conceded a set in the first leg in Italy, the Turkish team quickly entered their match against the Slovenians on Wednesday at the Mangin Beaulieu gymnasium. Fenerbahce collected three new points in the table in 69 minutes. A success that brings Fenerbahce closer to a possible qualification for the quarterfinals of the competition.

• Coach Aljosa JEMEC said in the pre-match that the team from Istanbul would be in better shape than in December, and stronger with their American winter signing Kelsey ROBINSON. The clear success in three rounds this evening is the most concrete illustration of this.

• Eliminated from the Champions League, Calcit Kamnik has only one chance this season of securing his first ever win in this competition, facing VB Nantes tomorrow at 6pm.

• Kelsey Robinson was elected MVP of the match, scoring 14 pointa for Fenerbahce - including 11 spikes and 3 aces. She has also recorded 70% of positive reception throughout the match.