Italian Cucine Lube Civitanova confirmed their great moment (10-0 score in SuperLega) and defeated also Brazilian giants of Sada Cruzeiro VĂ´lei on their ground in Round 2 of the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Club World Championship in Betim.
After an easy match on Day 1 against the Qatari side Al-Rayyan Sports Club, they repeated the same furious performance against much stronger rivals, South American champions Cruzeiro in straight sets (25:23, 30:28, 25:15). The match was pretty much marked with the way two Cruzeiroâs former players Robertlandy SimĂłn and Yoandy Leal were welcomed by more than 4,000 home fans. In the case of Leal, who wore the jersey of Cruzeiro for six years, only applauses upon entering the court were heard. As for SimĂłn, his appearance was mostly followed by boos. The Pole Mateusz Bieniek was the top scorer for Lube, who secured the first place prior to the semifinals (2-0 score, 6 points, no sets lost), with 16 points, including 4 winning blocks and the same number of aces. Evandro Guerra scored 15 points for the losing side, who came in second with 1-1 and 3 points.
Reactions:
Cucine Lube Civitanovaâs setter Bruno Rezende: âWe were trailing for the most part of the first two sets, but we had the patience to turn things around. Sada Cruzeiro are a great team and their serving game is very strong. We controlled it well and didnât let them score a lot of points from the service line, which was great. We made some mistakes and I made some bad decisions, but we managed to overcome these moments and thatâs the most important thing. Our third set was a lot better.â
Cucine Lube Civitanovaâs middle blocker Mateusz Bieniek: âItâs the perfect start for us. To win our first two matches 3-0 is great. Sada Cruzeiro is a great team but I think we played a better overall match. We had some problems in the first two sets, but we found our game in the end.â
Sada Cruzeiro VĂ´leiâs outside hitter Facundo Conte: âI think the main difference was their serving. We were playing better than them in some moments in the first two sets, but they got some aces that changed the match. We lost our focus in the third set, but the first two were very good and I think we can play even better. We can really build on what we did in the first two sets against a team that, in my opinion, is the best in the world.â
Sada Cruzeiro VĂ´leiâs opposite Evandro Guerra: âI think we did a good job, especially in the first two sets. The third set wasnât as good, but we canât let it let us down because itâs been a good tournament so far for us. We know our paths can cross again and Iâm confident the result can be different.â
As for the other match of the second round, Russian Zenit Kazan had a surprisingly difficult job to outplay Al-Rayyan, who managed to take the opening set. An unusual situation occurred at 4-0 for the Qatari side in the first set: the lights went off at the GinĂĄsio Poliesportivo Divino Ferreira Braga hall. The interruption of a game lasted for about half an hour. Zenit head coach Aleksey Verbov tried to rotate as many players as possible, so for instance, he pulled Ngapeth and Mikhaylov on the bench after the first two sets. Fedor Voronkov and Andrey Surmachevskiy scored 11 points each for the Russian runners-up who are at third-placed with an 1-1 score and 3 points. Portuguese Marco Ferreira and Brazilian Marcus VinĂcius Costa both scored 15 points for Asian Championship winners Al-Rayyan. Montenegrin Marko VukaĹĄinoviÄ served 5 aces.
Reactions:
Sada Cruzeiro VĂ´leiâs setter Fernando âCachopaâ Kreling: âWe always leave everything we have on the court and today we were fantastic. We played really well and we neutralized their best skills. But itâs a long and tough week and more difficult games will be coming our way starting tomorrow, so we need to keep our focus.â
Sada Cruzeiro VĂ´leiâs head coach Marcelo Mendez: âWe played a good game. We did well in pretty much every skill â we served well, our blocking touched in a lot of balls and our offense was in good rhythm. Iâm really proud of the team, but now we have to turn our focus to Lube as the match against them wonât be any easier.â
Zenit Kazanâs head coach Alexey Verbov: âItâs obviously not a good start for us, but a new tournament will start in the semifinals, so itâs not so bad for us. Itâs a big time-difference and a very distinct weather here and weâre still adjusting to it. We also need to feel the new ball better. Sada Cruzeiro played really well today, but we need to find our game because it was a poor performance for us. Weâll be ready for next match and hopefully we can improve step-by-step.â
2019 FIVB Volleyball Club World Championship â Round 2
December 4:
Zenit Kazan (RUS) â Al-Rayyan Sports Club (QAT) 3-1 (21:25, 25:20, 25:23, 25:21)
December 5:
Sada Cruzeiro VĂ´lei (BRA) â Cucine Lube Civitanova (ITA) 0-3 (23:25, 28:30, 15:25)
Source and photos: clubworldchampionships.2019.men.fivb.com