First European trophy ever for Italian club Vini Monteschiavo JESI

2008/09 GM Capital Challenge Cup

Jesi, Italy, March 15, 2009. The home team of Vini Monteschiavo JESI scored quite an easy victory this afternoon against Panathinaikos ATHENS of Greece to seize the 2008/09 Women’s GM Capital Challenge Cup and the first European trophy ever. Local star – and former World Champion along with the Italian national team back in 2002 – Simona Rinieri was named MVP of the Final Four. Third place went to Russia’s Leningradka ST-PETERSBURG after an exciting five setter against Spain’s CV ALBACETE.

Results
Final match
Vini Monteschiavo JESI (ITA) vs. Panathinaikos ATHENS (GRE) 3:0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-13)

Bronze medal match
Leningradka ST-PETERSBURG (RUS) vs CV ALBACETE (ESP) 3:2 (25-19, 22-25, 19-25, 25-19, 15-8)

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The opening of the final match was very close. JESI clinched the lead for a provisional 9:6 but then the Greeks turned the count around, walking up to 11:9 with a series of impressive services. After the score was leveled at 17, the hosts secured a decisive break with Bown and an outstanding Rinieri decisively contributing to the final 25-20. In the second set, Vini Monteschiavo sped up the rhythm, leading the way at both technical breaks in quite a convincing manner. At 19:13 for the Italians, Panathinaikos tried to bounce back but Rinieri was again playing a key role in the final outcome of the game, so that the Italians clinched also the second set. After a “false start (1:3), JESI regained full control of the operations also in the third set, sailing away and closing the match with a startling performance. The local fans literally exploded as Dutchwoman Manon Flier served an ace to close the final, with the first European trophy ever going to the club of JESI.
Local captain and MVP of the tournament Simona Rinieri said: “It was up to us to decide the final outcome of this match; if we had relaxed a little bit, we would have had a lot of problems; we adjusted our reception and were able to just go on that way. The most difficult match was yesterday's when our opponents pressure was particularly strong and we felt all the responsibilities of playing on home turf. Today we were able to transform that same tension into a positive energy.”

In the classification match played at noon, Russia’s Leningradka ST-PETERSBURG defeated CV ALBACETE of Spain in an exciting five setter. The Spaniards started out the match very confidently (8:12), with less unforced errors and taking advantage of an opponent which seemed initially less motivated and focused. However, the Russians improved their performance as the match was progressing, forcing Spanish coach Rodriguez to call a time-out, first at 18:16 and then again at 20:17 but Fernandez, Andrushko and Alimova provided the Russian team with the right momentum to score the set. In the second set CV ALBACETE played well both in attack and defense. The team was fighting for any single rally, leveling the score at 21. At that point, the Spaniards scored a decisive break with a precious contribution coming from Pazo and Brit Sandell, who seized 6 and 5 points respectively in the second section of the game. This convincing performance continued in the third set, with an encouraging 47% of efficiency in attack (compared with the 35% for the Russians). Also their block was playing a key role, sailing from a provisional 18:15 up to the final 25-19. In the fourth set the Russians were back into the game, especially thank to former Olympic champion Ana Ibis Fernandez of Cuba who scored 7 points. They built up a reassuring margin and did not give it up until the end of the set. In the decisive tie-break, Leningradka led the way from the very beginning and again Fernandez finished the job with a mighty spike. Spanish coach Rodriguez commented at the end of the match: “It was a great match and I have to say that I'm very happy to see that my team played so much better than yesterday, both in offense and in defense, without making too many errors. Our adversaries, however, proved to be more determined than what we did”. Russian coach Kashin added: “I would like to thank the organizers for the perfect tournament they arranged and I would like to also thank the opposing team for giving such a good performance”.

Final standings

1. Vini Monteschiavo JESI (ITA)
2. Panathinaikos ATHENS (GRE)
3. Leningradka ST-PETERSBURG (RUS)
4. CV ALBACETE (ESP)

Individual awards

Best scorer: Ana Ibis Fernandez Valle (CUB/Leningradka ST-PETERSBURG)
Best spiker: Maria Isabel Fernandez Conde (ESP/Panathinaikos ATHENS)
Best blocker: Heather Bown (USA/Vini Monteschiavo JESI)
Best server: Sanja Tomasevic (SRB/Panathinaikos ATHENS)
Best receiver: Erika Carvalho de Sousa (BRA/CV ALBACETE)
Best setter: Maja Ognjenovic (SRB/Vini Monteschiavo JESI)
Best libero: Maria Kupchinskaya (RUS/Leningradka ST-PETERSBURG)
Most Valuable Player (MVP): Simona Rinieri (ITA/Vini Monteschiavo JESI)