Asystel NOVARA claims third European title

Women’s CEV Cup Final Four 2009

Novara, Italy, March 15, 2009. After their two European Gold medals in 2003 (CEV Cup) and 2006 (Top Teams Cup), Asystel NOVARA clinched today its third European Cup title. The Italians demonstrated a perfect show against Russian Uralochka NTMK EKATERINBURG (3:0) in Sunday’s final encounter at “Sporting Village” in Novara (ITA). Fenerbahce Acibadem ISTANBUL secured bronze with a 3:1 win over Rote Raben VILSBIBURG.

Uralochka NTMK EKATERINBURG enjoyed a slender lead at the first technical time-out in the 2009 Women’s CEV Cup Final, 8-6. The Russians had scored attractive points at the net through Pasynkova and Duskryadchenko, but undid some of their good work with passing that ended on the floor or far away from an advantageous setting position. 22-year young Barcellini showed his attacking talents with two punishing winners that even the Russian's tall blockers didn't see, and Asystel NOVARA was in command 16-13 at the second technical time-out. Uralochka’s attack faltered down the stretch, gifting quite easy block kills to the hosts, and Paggi hammered one over for 23-16. Paggi again smashed Asystel to set point at 24-18, and Pasynkova sent it wide to end it in Italian’s favor.
Spiking and blocking very well, EKATERINBURG made, as in the first set, another good start to the second set (8-4). But when Anzanello hammered the ball through Uralochka’s defense, the score board showed a two-point lead for the Italians at the second technical time-out. On the other hand, the Russian players were not able to get their cardiologic system up to working speed during the entire set. Head coach Nikolay Karpol tried to reorganize his team with a time-out, but it was already too late. Barcellini’s attack floated some centimeters too long, but Osmokrovic finished it with a well timed spike through the Russian block, 25-21.
The Italians kept their high spirits after the 3-minute break, and led 8-3 at the first technical time-out. The match was over as a contest now. EKATERINBURG couldn’t find any solutions against the fast offensive skills of Feng and her teammates. The Italians burned the turbo, and when Osmokrovic hammered the ball through the Russian defense, the third European Cup title for Asystel was reality.

Luciano Pedullà, NOVARA’s head coach, stated: “I’m very happy, we played very well today. Libero Cardullo did an outstanding job in passing and defending, helping us to play very fast at the net. It’s a wonderful feeling for the team, but also for the responsible of the club. They worked very hard to organize this Final Four tournament in Novara”.   

Jeremiah Estes, Assistant coach of EKATERINBURG, reported after the match: “Our intensity was very poor tonight, and we had many problems in service reception. But, you know, it’s very difficult to beat Novara at home, they are a very strong team”.

Fenerbahce Acibadem ISTANBUL claimed the bronze medal after a hard-fought duel against Rote Raben Vilsbiburg. The Germans kick started into the match, delighting the 1’250 noisy volleyball fans in “Sporting Village” in Novara with great team spirit (16-9). However, the Turks came back powerfully, turning around the score in their favor (25-23). Even when VILSBIBURG won the third set, Fenerbahce kept the upper hand, securing the third rank of this year’s Women’s CEV Cup. Turkish Seda Tokatlioglu was the best scorer of the match with 23 points.

The Final Four of the Women’s CEV Cup 2009 in Novara turned out to be a major success. More than 7,500 fans enjoyed the matches live in the Italian city. Journalists from all over Europe were present with the matches being broadcasted live on international and national television channels.

Individual Awards:
MVP: Cristina Barcellini (Novara)
Best Scorer: Seda Tokatlioglu (Istanbul)
Best Server: Maria Duskryadchenko (Ekaterinburg)
Best Spiker: Katja Wühler (Vilsbiburg)
Best Blocker: Paola Paggi (Novara)
Best Setter: Kun Feng (Novara)
Best Receiver: Valeriya Korotenko (Istanbul)

Picture Gallery
Official Results

Women’s CEV Cup 2009
Final Four in Novara (ITA)

Ranking

1. Asystel Volley NOVARA (ITA)
2. Uralochka NTMK EKATERINBURG (RUS)
3. Fenerbahce Acibadem ISTANBUL (TUR)
4. Rote Raben VILSBIBURG (GER)

Sunday, March 15:
Gold medal match: NOVARA vs. EKATERINBURG 3:0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-13)
Bronze medal match: ISTANBUL vs. VILSBIBURG 3:1 (25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 25-13)

Saturday, March 14:
Asystel Volley NOVARA vs. Fenerbahce Acibadem ISTANBUL 3:0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-22)
Uralochka NTMK EKATERINBURG vs. Rote Raben VILSBIBURG 3:2 (25-19, 26-24, 25-27, 15-25, 15-8)

For more information as live score, results, pictures as well as statistics please visit www.cev.lu.