Champions League: Jastrzebski, Tours and Perugia ok. Trento down ZAKSA in remake of last two Superfinals!
5 min read
Round 3 of Pool Stage of 2022/23 CEV Champions League started today with four matches.
In Pool A, Jastrzębski Węgiel have risen on time against VfB Friedrichshafen to keep the perfect record. Although they didn’t play at their optimal level, the Polish vice-champions earned a very valuable three points after a 1-3 win (25:18, 31:33, 14:25, 22:25) on the road in Germany and broke the rival’s invincibility.
Friedrichshafen won the first set 25-18 and were close to taking the second set as well. In fact, the guys around Mark Lebedew had 23-21, and then they also had six set points but failed to convert them all. The Frenchman Stéphen Boyer was Jastrzębski’s man of the match today, scoring 29 points and being especially effective in second set, as he served 4 aces, while Jakub Popiwczak had 70% reception (10 digs, 40% excellent). Michał Superlak top-scored for Friedrichshafen with 16 points, Serb Aleksandar Nedeljković made 6 blocks, while his fellow countryman had 91% reception (11 digs, 1 error, 45% excellent).
In Pool C, 1-3 win on the road also for French powerhouse Tours VB, who down the hosts Sport Lisboa e Benfica from Portugal (30:28, 21:25, 19:25, 21:25) in 123 minutes of play. Luciano Palonsky and Aboubacar Drame Neto were decisive on the winning side, the first one also top scorer of the match with 23 points through 58% in attack, 2 winning blocks and as many as 7 aces (of Tours’11, against the only five of Benfica).
In Pool D, Trentino Itas have interrupted the four-match losing streak against Grupa Azoty Kędzierzyn-Koźle, better known in world of volleyball as ZAKSA, which lasted since 2017.
In the big match of the third round of the competition, which was also the re-edition of the last two Super Finals, Trentino enjoyed the sweet taste of revenge, beating ZAKSA 3-1 (25:20, 17:25, 26:24, 25:23) and reaching 3-0. Each of these two times in the match for the title, the Polish team prevailed.
Neither side needed much motivation for this clash, but the Italians, of course, needed to be more pumped up. Trentino were always ahead, with the exception of the second set. In the third, however, could’ve changed the course of the match as ZAKSA managed to melt down the rival’s 17-13 lead but lost the set in overtime. Italy National team member and World Champions Alessandro Michieletto played on a high level on the winning side scoring 21 points (4 aces) through high attacking rates of 71%, while Łukasz Kaczmarek scored the same number of points as Michieletto, but for ZAKSA, now at 2-1.
“We succeeded in moving on from the previous championship’s defeats. We played with plenty of determination and we won, even though our opponents proved that they were better at blocking and defense. It is an important victory and I hope it will be a turning point for our season,” said Angelo Lorenzetti, Head coach of Trentino Itas.
Alessandro Michieletto, Outside hitter of Trentino Itas Trento and MVP of the match: “We did great at fighting in every single moment and winning by 3-1, which is also important for our Pool D rankings. We did our best and now we have to keep going like this. The job isn’t finished. It was very difficult today, because ZAKSA is a very good team with a lot of great players. So I am very happy for my team and for this victory, because we worked hard every day in the gym and this is the result.”
Tuomas Sammelvuo, Head coach of Grupa Azoty Kedzierzyn-Kozle: “We knew it would be an emotional match. Trentino didn’t play well in the last match of the SuperLega, so we knew the team could have a strong reaction. However, I am happy that after the bad start we stuck together and continued to play point by point. It was a good, hard-fought game.”
In Pool E, with the maximum result and the minimum effort, Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia took the third victory in as many games. In Germany, the Italian vice-champions beat the hosts SWD powervolleys Düren 3-0 (25:17, 25:23, 25:21). The 15th success this season out of the same number of matches in all competitions of the Italian powerhouse came after their head coach Andrea Anastasi fielded mostly backups. Ukrainian Oleh Plotnytskyi scored 14 points for Perugia including 4 aces, while Chilean Sebastián Gevert scored 11 points on the other side of the net.
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🏐| 2022/23 CEV Champions League | Pool Stage | Matches of the week
👉🏼 November 29, 2022
POOL A | 18.00 (Local Time) | VfB Friedrichshafen (GER) – Jastrzebski Węgiel (POL) 1-3 (25:18, 31:33, 14:25, 22:25)
November 30, 2022
POOL A | 18.00 (Local Time) | Vojvodina NS Seme Novi Sad (SRB) – Montpellier MHSC VB (FRA) 3-1 (19:25, 30:28, 25:17, 25:23)
🏐| Standings of Pool A (updated on this day)
1. Jastrzebski Węgiel (POL) 9
2. VfB Friedrichshafen (GER) 5
3. Montpellier MHSC VB (FRA) 1
4. Vojvodina NS Seme Novi Sad (SRB) 0
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November 30, 2022
POOL B | 18.00 (Local Time) | Hebar Pazardzhik (BUL) – Halkbank Ankara (TUR) 2-3 (19:25, 20:25, 25:19, 25:22, 7:15)
November 30, 2022
POOL B | 18.00 (Local Time) | Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie (POL) – Berlin Recycling Volleys (GER) 1-3 (21:25, 25:20, 27:29, 25:27)
🏐| Standings of Pool B (updated on this day)
1. Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie (POL) 6
2. Halkbank Ankara (TUR) 3
3. Berlin Recycling Volleys (GER) 2
4. Hebar Pazardzhik (BUL) 1
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👉🏼 November 29, 2022
POOL C | 21.00 (Local Time) | Sport Lisboa e Benfica (POR) – Tours VB (FRA) 1-3 (30:28, 21:25, 19:25, 21:25)
November 30, 2022
• POOL C | 20.30 (Local Time) | Knack Roeselare (BEL) – Cucine Lube Civitanova (ITA) 1-3 (19:25, 25:21, 23:25, 27:29)
🏐| Standings of Pool C (updated on this day)
1. Tours VB (FRA) 6
2. Cucine Lube Civitanova (ITA) 5
3. Knack Roeselare (BEL) 2
4. Sport Lisboa e Benfica (POR) 2
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👉🏼 November 29, 2022
POOL D | 20.30 (Local Time) | Trentino Itas (ITA) – Grupa Azoty Kędzierzyn-Kozle (POL) 3-1 (25:20, 17:25, 26:24, 25:23)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
November 30, 2022
POOL D | 18.00 (Local Time) | ČEZ Karlovarsko (CZE) – Decospan VT Menen (BEL) 3-0 (28:26, 26:24, 25:17)
🏐| Standings of Pool D (updated on this day)
1. Trentino Itas (ITA) 9
2. Grupa Azoty Kędzierzyn-Kozle (POL) 6
3. ČEZ Karlovarsko (CZE) 0
4. Decospan VT Menen (BEL) 0
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👉🏼 November 29, 2022
POOL E | 19.00 (Local Time) | SWS Powervolleys Düren (GER) – Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia (ITA) 0-3 (17:25, 23:25, 21:25)
November 30, 2022
• POOL E | 18.00 (Local Time) | ACH Volley Ljubljana (SLO) – Ziraat Bank Ankara (TUR) 2-3 (17:25, 25:20, 25:23, 23:25, 12:15)
🏐| Standings of Pool E (updated on this day)
1. Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia (ITA) 9
2. SWS Powervolleys Düren (GER) 3
3. ACH Volley Ljubljana (SLO) 3
4. Ziraat Bank Ankara (TUR) 0
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