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The last match of the week was also the only game in Pool E that has not ended in straight sets. Both teams open the match with a close set, where POLICE saved four set balls before NOVARA won it at 25-27. Italians followed with a win in the second set, but POLICE didn’t shy away from bouncing back in the 3rd and 4th set, led by Jovana Brakocevic who outscored Malwina Smarzek-Godek at that point. The final part belonged to NOVARA who controlled the tie-break from the first moments, winning it at 6-15. Both teams performed well in block, with POLICE scoring 17 points and NOVARA taking 13. The Italian side dominated the service line, scoring 8 points in that element. The victory keeps NOVARA 1st in the table of the Pool E with 8 points, while POLICE remain second with 7.  

• Micha Hancock was awarded MVP of the match. She contributed to her team’s victory by scoring 5 points (4 aces and 1 block).

• Jovana Brakocevic was the best scorer of the game with 24 points; on the Italian side the best scorer was Malwina Smarzek-Godek, who claimed 22 points.

• In the first set POLICE saved 4 sets ball to NOVARA before losing 25-27.

• POLICE played “flawlessly” in the third set, when performed 0 mistakes in the whole set.

• During the third set, with the score of 18-16 for POLICE, NOVARA lost their American middle blocker Haleigh Washington due to a bad muscle-injury.

Micha Hancock, setter of Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA: “We are happy for our three victories, we really couldn’t expect something better for our first tournament in Champions League. We are aware that this was just a first step, now we have to finish our job in February when we will be playing the second tournament in Poland. We know that three more clashes are waiting for us and we will be ready”.

Martyna Grajber, outside spiker of Grupa Azoty Chemik POLICE: “I am very proud of my team, I think we’ve had great performances and scored 7 points which is something very important for us. We can regret a bit what happened tonight, but really we should be very proud of how we played and of what we did. We are thankful to the organisation of the event, which was great, and to CEV who found a way to let us play this wonderful competition”.