SADDDDDDDDDDDDDD!
“All Italian teams are eliminated from the competition and for the first time since 1983 – back then the competition was known as Champions Cup – Italy won’t be represented in the Final Four Tournament.”
So sad right?
Two teams from Turkey – VakifBank and Eczacibasi VitrA – plus another two from Russia – Dinamo KAZAN and Omichka OMSK REGION – compose, together with France’s RC CANNES and Switzerland’s Volero ZÜRICH, the draw for the Playoffs 6 of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women. In about ten days these teams will re-start their quest for a spot in the Final Four Tournament scheduled for March 15-16 so as to join hosts Rabita BAKU. After RebecchiNMeccanica PIACENZA and Prosecco Doc-Imoco CONEGLIANO lost their respective matches to Volero ZÜRICH and Omichka OMSK REGION, all Italian teams are eliminated from the competition and for the first time since 1983 – back then the competition was known as Champions Cup – Italy won’t be represented in the Final Four Tournament. The winners of this year’s Champions League will compete at the 2014 FIVB Women’s Club World Championship coming up through May 6-11 in Zurich.
The draw for the Playoffs 6 coming up the first and second week of February reads as follows:
Omichka OMSK REGION (RUS) vs. Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL (TUR)
VakifBank ISTANBUL (TUR) vs. RC CANNES (FRA)
Volero ZÜRICH (SUI) vs. Dinamo KAZAN (RUS)
Russia’s rookies Omichka OMSK REGION fought their way back after losing the first round of the Playoffs 12 in Italy and started their comeback by winning the return game with Prosecco Doc-Imoco CONEGLIANO in straight sets (25-20, 25-19, and 29-27) and then also the golden set that followed (15-10) to qualify to the Playoffs 6 and play there Turkey’s Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL. This is a terrific achievement for the team from Siberia’s second largest city that is making their first appearance in the CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League. “We played much better than we had done last week in Treviso while our opponents served really bad” said Omichka head coach Zoran Terzic. “We played with the right attitude and I always was confident that we would have won in the end. We have showed that we are a strong team and that we also can stand the pressure for we had to come back after losing last week in Italy. Now we will have a couple of very tough matches with Eczacibasi. We will play relaxed because I know we have good chances to make the Final Four. Anyway, since we are participating in the Champions League for the very first time this year, I think we already did a great job by claiming a spot for the Playoffs 6.”
Turkey’s Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL turned on Tuesday into the very first team to book their ticket to the Playoffs 6 of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women. Eczacibasi did so by claiming also the second round of their Playoffs 12 double-header with Poland’s champions Atom Trefl SOPOT, even though this time they dropped the first set before getting back on track to sweep the next three (16-25, 25-21, 25-21, and 25-20). Neslihan Demir top scored in the end with 23 points while US American Kimberly Hill paced Atom Trefl SOPOT in their losing effort with 16.
The winners of the 2011 and 2013 edition, VakifBank ISTANBUL cruised on Wednesday to another straight victory (25-13, 25-12, and 25-20) to outclass Azerbaijan’s Igtisadchi BAKU and claim a spot in the Playoffs 6 of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women. Team captain Gözde Sonsirma Kirdar top scored for the winning team with 15 points. “We really played a good game tonight. If we continue this way, I think we can keep on winning” she said. “We played excellent especially in blocking and defence” head coach Giovanni Guidetti commented after the match. “This victory comes from the contribution of all players and we are happy that this way we could make it to the next round.”
RC CANNES completed on Thursday the sensation they started last week edging once more Turkey’s standout Galatasaray Daikin ISTANBUL, this time in straight sets (25-19, 25-16, and 25-21), to claim the last ticket to the Playoffs 6 of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women. Their next stop will be again in Turkey as they are now set to play VakifBank ISTANBUL, the winners of the 2013 edition and reigning club world champions. “We are terribly sorry and very disappointed but from what I have seen tonight this is a fair result” commented the head coach of Galatasaray Daikin, Massimo Barbolini. “We simply did not find our way into the match while, on the other hand, RC CANNES has got many players with experience at this level. Our goal now is to finish among the top three in the Turkish national league so as to get the right to participate in the next edition of the CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League. Our club wants to and deserves to be there” he concluded.
On Wednesday night Dinamo KAZAN followed in the footsteps of Zenit – the other world class team from the capital city of Tatarstan – routing Dinamo MOSCOW in straight sets (25-15, 25-22, and 25-23) to make the Playoffs 6 of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women and play there Switzerland’s Volero ZÜRICH. Dinamo and Volero will be crossing their ways once more after they were drawn in the same preliminary Pool but this time there will be much more at stake, i.e. a ticket to the Final Four tournament in Baku. “Today we played our best match this season so far” commented Dinamo KAZAN mentor Rishat Gilyazutdinov. “My players showed a very good attitude, world-class Volleyball and played great in all fundamentals.”
Italy’s champions RebecchiNMeccanica PIACENZA caught a good start in their return game of the Playoffs 12 with Switzerland’s Volero ZÜRICH but they eventually lost – as they had done last week – in four sets (25-22, 18-25, 20-25, and 19-25). Actually Volero had already claimed their ticket to the Playoffs 6 after the third set for PIACENZA was no longer in the position to call for the golden set even if they had won the match. This means rookies PIACENZA – who had topped the charts in preliminary Pool B – are bidding farewell to the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women whereas Volero will continue their campaign and play in the next round Dinamo KAZAN.
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Men’s
Italy, Russia, and Poland confirmed their status as major forces to be reckoned with in men’s Volleyball as these countries qualified two teams each to the Playoffs 6 of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men. There will be a Polish derby there featuring the likes of JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel and Asseco Resovia RZESZOW, while Italy’s champions and vice-champions Diatec TRENTINO and Copra Elior PIACENZA are set to take on two Russian giants, Belogorie BELGOROD and Zenit KAZAN respectively. The winners of the Playoffs 6 will join the hosts of this year’s Final Four Tournament, Turkey’s Halkbank ANKARA, for the last act of Europe’s elite club competition which is scheduled for March 22-23. The eventual champions will get the right to represent Europe at the 2014 FIVB Men’s Club World Championship taking place through May 6-11 in Betim, Brazil.
The draw of the Playoffs 6 scheduled for the first and second week of February reads as follows:
Copra Elior PIACENZA (ITA) vs. Zenit KAZAN (RUS)
JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel (POL) vs. Asseco Resovia RZESZOW (POL)
Belogorie BELGOROD (RUS) vs. Diatec TRENTINO (ITA)
Russia’s Zenit KAZAN downed on Tuesday BERLIN Recycling Volleys in straight sets (25-11, 25-20, and 25-23) to follow up on their three-set victory from last week in Germany’s capital city and make the Playoffs 6. “We played a great game” said head coach Vladimir Alekno. “The players were in a good mood and though they were a little nervous before the start of the game, this tension was quickly gone. We were definitely much stronger than BERLIN and so I decided to rest some of the starting players so as to provide the young guys with a chance to play. I am satisfied with the performance of our second lines. They helped us confirm our status as leading force.”
Italy’s vice champions Copra Elior PIACENZA caused a sensation on Thursday night as they fought their way back after losing the away match in straight sets to their compatriots of Lube Banca Marche MACERATA. They first claimed a 3:0 home victory (25-22, 25-19, and 25-20) and after that also the golden set that followed (15-13). A silver medallist from the 2008 edition of the CEV Volleyball Champions League, Copra Elior PIACENZA will be playing in the Playoffs 6 Russia’s Zenit KAZAN, i.e. the team that back then had edged the Italians in the final match played at the Mosir hall in Lodz, Poland.
Poland’s JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel routed once more TOURS VB in straight sets (25-23, 25-16, and 25-22) as they had done a week ago in France to progress to the Playoffs 6 and take there on their compatriots of Asseco Resovia RZESZOW. “The first set was crucial and at the beginning we looked quite nervous. However, after we brought it home, we got the right confidence and imposed our rhythm of the game. We played some great Volleyball later in the game showing the same determination I got to see last week in Tours” said the head coach of JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel, Lorenzo Bernardi.
Asseco Resovia RZESZOW edged Belgium’s Knack ROESELARE also in the second round of the Playoffs 12 to play JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel in what will be the very last step before the Final Four tournament scheduled for March 22-23 in Ankara, Turkey. As they had done last week at home, Poland’s champions could see off their Belgian opponents in four sets (25-18, 26-28, 25-16, and 25-18) paced by their captain Aleh Akhrem with 15 points. Home hero Hendrik Tuerlinckx top scored for Knack with 17 but still this was not enough for the Belgians to make the Playoffs 6. “Asseco Resovia was too strong for my team this evening” said Knack ROESELARE head coach Emile Rousseaux after the match. “We lost and we are out but I want to congratulate my players on their performance in this edition of the CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League. With their six straight victories in the prelims they made excellent advertising for Volleyball here in our country.”
After Zenit KAZAN had achieved that feat on Tuesday, a second Russian team, Belogorie BELGOROD, advanced on Wednesday to the Playoffs 6 of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men. The “Lions” as they are nicknamed in Russia got their ticket to the next phase via a straight victory over Budvanska Rivijera BUDVA of Montenegro (25-22, 25-19, and 25-16) to celebrate their hundredth match in Europe’s elite club competition. “Today we achieved the goal I had set for my team” commented Belogorie mentor Gennady Shipulin. “We are finding our best play and we really wanted to make it to the next stage of this competition.”
TRENTINO Diatec also made it to the Playoffs 6 of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League after defeating the Belgians of Noliko MAASEIK 3:1 at the PalaTrento (25-23, 25-19, 26-28, and 25-23). In the next round TRENTINO will get to test the likes of Russia’s standout Belogorie BELGOROD playing first away and then the return game at home. “I am very satisfied with the first two sets and honestly I am happy that we played a fourth set too, so I had the opportunity to replace some players and test different situations. Let’s see what the match against Belogorie BELGOROD will bring. First of all we have to focus on the matches of the national league and the Italian Cup” stated TRENTINO head coach Roberto Serniotti.
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(image: cev.lu)