14/10/2012 21:00
TRENTINO books semifinal spot as Zenit KAZAN debuts with solid win
News from the FIVB
Doha, Qatar, October 14, 2012. European teams keep their perfect record after the second day of action was completed on Sunday at the FIVB Club World Championship in Doha, Qatar. The triple world champions of TRENTINO Diatec easily disposed in straight sets of their Mexican opponents while 2012 Champions League winner Zenit KAZAN opened their campaign by claiming a 3:1 win over Al-Arabi. TRENTINO will fight for the top position in Pool A via their last preliminary match against the South American champions of Sada Cruzeiro that is scheduled for Tuesday, October 16.
Russia’s Zenit KAZAN defeated the hosts of Al-Arabi DOHA 3-1 (25-22, 25-22, 29-31, and 25-18) in Pool B to open the campaign whereby the winners of the 2012 CEV Volleyball Champions League hope to improve on their bronze medals from 2009 and 2011. Evgeny Sivozhelez topped the winning side with 22 points as three other teammates also scored in double digits. Matthew Anderson and Maxim Mikhaylov added 16 and 15 respectively while Nikolay Apalikov contributed 10. German-born Christian Pampel finished with a match-high 23 points for Al-Arabi followed by Renan Ribeiro and Ahmed Al Bakhet each with 13. Matti Ovainen tallied 12 points. Zenit KAZAN held 9-7 and 4-3 advantages in the blocking and service winners departments. The winners made 25 unforced errors to 30 by the defeated side.
Vladimir Alekno, head coach of Zenit, said: “We are happy to win this game. We hope to play better tomorrow. I believe we played well but since this was the first game it was not easy”.
Italy’s TRENTINO Diatec demolished Tigres de Nuevo Leon of Mexico in straight sets (25-15, 25-15, and 25-20) for its second victory in Pool A on Sunday afternoon. The winners out-served their opponents 7-1 and held a slight 4-3 edge in blocking. Czech opposite Jan Stokr anchored TRENTINO with 18 points followed by Matey Kaziyski with 16, including three aces. Juan Virgen topped Nuevo Leon with 12 points and Ismael Guerrero chipped in with 9 tallies. One day after prevailing in a long battle against Al-Rayyan, TRENTINO came back with recharged energy and didn’t allow any break to their opponents during the first two sets.
Matey Kaziyski, captain of TRENTINO: “We are happy to have had a convincing win today. We did not want to be surprised by our opponents who are at their first participation in this event. This relatively easy win will allow us to continue confidently our way in this tournament”.
Head coach Radostin Stoytchev said: “I would like to congratulate the Mexican team for the spirit in which they played this match, trying to resist to a more experienced team. As for my players, we also played a much better game today, and every one of them fulfilled their duties in the match. This is a good sign for the future and we are now looking forward to the next game”.
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