Wonderful Bled in Final Four

Bled surpsise everybody and qualified for the first time for Final Four. Also Trentino and Moscow accomplished their mission to Lodz.

The fairy tale of Slovenia’s ACH Volley BLED continued in front of a packed arena in Ljubljana, with the local heroes turning around the result of last week’s first match against Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK to first score the so much needed 3:1 and then fire up the audience with a classy performance in the golden set. Although they had to play under real pressure, after having lost the first match last week in Innsbruck, the Slovenians of ACH Volley BLED ultimately wrote history in Ljubljana as they first defeated Hypo Tirol 3:1 and then clipped also the decisive golden set to qualify for the final four of the 2009/2010 CEV Indesit Champions League. Decisive golden set started better for Hypo Tirol they took the lead with Gavan’s block (3:5) but ACH Volley’s players did not surrender, tied at 9 and then took the lead (10:9) after an error of Brazilian Dos Santos. After a successful attack of Alen Šket, followed by another block of the same player, the home team increased its lead (12:9). The guests from INNSBRUCK called another time-out but the grand victory and with it a spot for the final four in Poland finally went to the Slovenian champions (15-10). Vid Jakopin topped the charts of the best scorers tonight with 24 points while Gabriel Chocholak squeezed in with 22 for Hypo Tirol.
Local coach Glenn Hoag said after the match: “The team deserved to win, to be this successful because the players simply form a good team. The prize for all the hard work will be the feeling of being present at the final four of the CEV Indesit Champions League, of achieving the impossible. It is an amazing feeling to play there". Andrej Flajs, ACH Volley’s captain, added: “Nothing can go wrong playing before a crowd like that. The feeling is amazing – the best birthday present.”

Dinamo MOSCOW qualified tonight for the final four of Champions League as the Russians did not simply score the 2 sets they needed, but also claimed the return game of the Playoffs 6 against Olympiacos PIRAEUS at the “Melina Merkouri” Sports Hall. A very dramatic victory in the first set (32-34), an easy job in the second set (17-25) and a close fourth set (27-29) marked the game. The player who gave Dinamo MOSCOW the decisive first set, Alexander Volkov, said after the match: “We qualified for the final four playing against a great team, in front of a spectacular audience. When I went at the service point, on 32:33, I decided to serve powerfully, and, thankfully, I served an ace. Olympiacos PIRAEUS’s fans are magnificent.” Dinamo MOSCOW’s top scorer, Brazilian Dante Amaral, added: “The first set was the determinant for advancing to the final four. Thankfully, we were more determined to win and we made it”.

In the return match of the Playoffs 6 for the CEV Indesit Champions League TRENTINO BetClic scores a second victory against Asseco Resovia RZESZOW, this time in four sets, to qualify for the final four to be played in Lodz next April 10-11, 2010. The Italians will have there a big opportunity to seize this prestigious trophy for the second time in a row, after they already topped the charts last year in Prague.
The top scorer of the game was Belarusian Aleh Akhrem of Asseco Resovia RZESZOW with 20 points. On the other side, Osmany Juantorena (17 points) and Matey Kaziyski (13 points) were once again outstanding for TRENTINO.
“We are very glad to win this game and that we secured our promotion to the final four. At the end of the first set we played very concentrated and determined. Anyway I believe that in the finals we can play even better” stated Bulgarian superstar Matey Kaziyski, the captain of TRENTINO BetClic. “I am satisfied with the level of concentration presented by my team especially in the first set. We made a big step but we are already looking forward to the final tour tournament in Lodz. The Polish supporters once again showed their class today so I expect that the finals of the CICL in Poland will be unforgettable” concluded the head coach of the Italians, Radostin Stoytchev.