ACH Volley, Panathinaikos, Austrian teams book #CEVChallengeCupM 8th Final tickets
News
A number of teams have secured their spot in the 8th Finals of the #CEVChallengeCupM after completion of their respective fixtures in the Round of 32. These include ACH Volley LJUBLJANA, Panathinaikos AC ATHENS as well as two teams from Austria – Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL and VCA NÖ AMSTETTEN.
ACH Volley LJUBLJANA claimed a spot in the 8th Finals following their comprehensive 3-1 victory in the re-match with VC Barkom-Kazhany LVIV (20-25, 29-27, 25-17, 25-19). Last week, the ‘Orange Dragons’ from Slovenia had secured a 3-0 victory at home – and with their back against the wall, the hosts from Ukraine had to fight their way back. So they did, leading 4-0 and 10-6 in the first set, which they eventually won 25-20. The score remained close for most of the second set – and at some point, it looked like the home side had the game under their control again. However, ACH Volley fought back to edge their opponents at 29-27. As the third set approached its final stage, ACH Volley broke away and after taking a 25-17 win, the Slovenians made sure they would be the ones to progress to the next round.
After mastering a 3-2 away victory last week, Panathinaikos managed to edge Maccabi Yeadim TEL AVIV at home as well (3-1) to make sure they would take a coveted ticket to the 8th Finals. Among some 1,000 fans in attendance, there were also two 75-year-old Volleyball passionate men – Roulis Agrapidakis supporting Panathinaikos and Oded Shintof of Maccabi Yeadim – who spent some time together in a spirit of true sportsmanship and fair play.
Dimitrios Andreopoulos“First of all, we must stress that this is a very important moment for Panathinaikos. The club has returned to European competitions after 10 years and it is very important that we could combine our return with the qualification to the next round – doing so against a very strong opponent such as Maccabi. We knew it would come down to details in both games and so it did.”
Head coach of Panathinaikos
Charalampos Andreopoulos, player Panathinaikos: “This moment is historic for our team. We qualified for the next round of the Challenge Cup, and it feels wonderful. It was an honour to compete against a strong opponent like Maccabi.”
Gal Galili, head coach of Maccabi: “It was a very tough game in a fantastic atmosphere. We showed we deserved something better, and we tried our best. Good luck to Panathinaikos.”
Kyle Ensing, player of Maccabi: “It was a good game between two strong teams. We tried to go for the best possible result, but we did not manage to qualify. Nevertheless, we gave our battle and showed that we can stand even at an international level.”
Two Austrian teams - Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL and VCA NÖ AMSTETTEN have reached the 8th Finals of the competition as well. Union Raiffeisen were victorious in their two matches against Viking TIF BERGEN of Norway. The Austrians had won the first match 3-1 – and after taking the first and second sets from the second fixture, they had already punched their ticket to the next round.
Daan Streutker“We played very well for two sets; after that, our opponents fought back. After all, we were able to win this game. Halkbank ANKARA in the next round will be an exciting task. They are of a different calibre.”
Player of Union Raiffeisen WALDVIERTEL and top scorer with 23 points
VCA NÖ AMSTETTEN managed to spring a surprise, winning the second match with Levski SOFIA 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-23, 25-19) to secure the right to contest a Golden Set – where they had the upper hand at 16-14. They will now play LAUSANNE UC of Switzerland in the next round of the competition.
Michael Henschke, Sports Director of VCA NÖ AMSTETTEN: “I am at loss for words. This was our best game of the year. It is unbelievable that we turned it around after yesterday’s defeat. You could tell from the first point how much our players wanted this victory. They really put everything into this evening’s match and that makes me proud.”
The third Austrian team in the competition, UVC Weberzeile RIED IM INNKREIS, failed to make up for their heavy home loss and despite taking two sets from Volley SCHÖNENWERD, the Swiss team will continue their journey in the Challenge Cup.