Italy, November 24, 2020. The Pool E began 1st Leg of the 4th Round at CEV Champions League Volley 2021 - Women with four teams competing over three days in Pala Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA. The hosting team and defending champions Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA claimed a comfortable first victory in Pool E, after beating Dinamo Ak-Bars KAZAN in three sets. The strong service was one of the key elements that allowed the Italian side to start this round with a win. 

The Russian side began strong, but their lead has not lasted long when NOVARA went 21-16 ahead and won the first set 25-19. The second set was the most levelled between former Champions League winners, as both teams went head to head when two monster blocks sealed the deal for NOVARA at 25-22. KAZAN kept facing issues caused by solid service from their opponents. NOVARA kept the momentum throughout the third set, winning the last act 25-13. 

• Britt Herbots was awarded MVP for her outstanding performance, including 10 points scored in the 1st set.

• NOVARA achieved their 5th consecutive victory in Champions League.

• It was the 2nd time in the club’s history that NOVARA matched a Russian team in their European campaigns. It was the first victory ever for NOVARA against a Russian side.

• NOVARA’s coach Stefano Lavarini and three of his players - Britt Herbots, Haleigh Washington and Sara Bonifacio - received a little payback against KAZAN. In the last season of CEV Cup, as a part of Busto Arsizio team, they suffered a 3-0 loss against the Russian stars.

Brit Herbots, outside spiker of Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA: “We did a really good job against one of the best teams in the world. We were aware that pushing our serve would have been crucial and that’s what we did and we are proud for having won such a tough game. Now we will keep focused, because we know that tomorrow we have another important game to play”.

Stefano Lavarini, coachof Igor Gorgonzola Novara head coach: "It was an amazing battle, I was sure we could play a good volleyball even against such a great opponent but of course this is the best possible start for our European campaigns. This is just a first step, we need more wins and more points to achieve a spot in the Playoffs and that is our goal".

Olga Biryukova, outside spiker of Dinamo-Ak Bars Kazan spiker: “We were excited about getting back to playing Champions League game. We know that the level here is higher than in our national league and we are sorry we started with a loss. Tomorrow we will for sure give our best in order to do better”.