Crvena Zvezda come from behind to seal dramatic home win

Crvena Zvezda BEOGRAD and BEZIERS VB delivered a highly entertaining match on Thursday night in Serbia’s capital as these teams locked horns for the first leg of the women’s CEV Cup Playoff Round, with the home side eventually emerging victorious after coming back from two sets down.

BEZIERS VB started out strong and it looked like they were on their way towards securing yet another European victory. Crvena Zvezda, on the other hand, was a bit slow to respond in the first set and lost it at a canter (15-25) in what was almost a one-sided game.
 
The second set started off in the same manner, but the home team slowly but surely managed to show their intent to win and fought until the very end. However, BEZIERS VB had the upper hand in the end after a drama-filled final section of the set (25-27). 

The course of the match changed completely in the third set, where Crvena Zvezda did finally rise to the occasion and could capitalise on the home court advantage. Relentless attacking and sturdy defence produced the desired outcome, and the home team was able to snatch a comfortable set win (25-19). More of the same was seen in the fourth set, with Crvena Zvezda staying in the lead almost from start to end, although they allowed the French side to narrow the deficit a bit before the Serbian team sealed a 25-20 win. The team with the right momentum, Crvena Zvezda, did eventually claim the tiebreaker (15-13) as well to complete a sensational comeback.
 
MVP of the game was Malgorzata Jasek who scored 30 points for the home side, while Claire Hoffman was the most effective player in the French team with a personal tally of 19 points.