PAOK emerge victorious on emotionally charged night

PAOK THESSALONIKI secured their qualification for the quarterfinals of the CEV Challenge Cup, despite suffering a “sweet” 2-3 defeat at the PAOK Sports Arena in their second matchup with Ukraine’s Epicentr-Podolyany HORODOK. 

Before the start of the match, the President of A.S. PAOK, Alkis Isaiadis, and the men’s Volleyball team laid wreaths at the memorial area of the PAOK Sports Arena to pay tribute to PAOK young fans who had perished in a tragic car accident in Romania while travelling to Lyon for a football match. Moreover, before the first serve of the match, a minute’s silence was observed in memory of the seven untimely lost PAOK supporters. 

The match took place in a very heavy emotional atmosphere, with Volleyball naturally taking a back seat. PAOK’s players claimed the two crucial sets they needed, turning the score around from 0-1 to 2-1 and thus “sealing” qualification for the quarterfinals. In the remaining two sets, their head coach Chrysovalantis Mamais gave playing time to the younger athletes of the roster, with the final score being shaped at 2-3.

In the quarterfinals, PAOK will face the Belgian team Lindemans AALST, with the matches scheduled for February 10-12 (Belgium) and February 17-19 (Thessaloniki).

Everyone in the team dedicated the qualification to the memory of the seven unjustly lost “little eagles”…