Eczacibasi prevail over Stuttgart in first battle for #CEVCupW title

The CEV Volleyball Cup 2022 - Women has reached its climax with the final stage that started on Tuesday night at Eczacibasi Spor Salonu ISTANBUL with a home final match. Only Eczacibasi Dynavit ISTANBUL and Allianz MTV STUTTGART left in the quest for the trophy, but after their first encounter the Turkish powerhouse is closer to the title. The Tigers showed their teeth sparked by their home crowd and led by Serbian superstar duo Maja Ognjenović & Tijana Bošković, but the German side proved that they never give up and are not afraid of more decorated rivals. Although, the visiting team battled hard, it was impossible to find a way to stop Bošković that night. The Serbian opposite hammered as many as 34 points by herself, once Eczacibasi - also thanks to playmaking efforts of Ognjenović - was clearly the dominant side in attack 54-37. The decisive re-match is scheduled on next Tuesday, March 22.

Eczacibasi Dynavit ISTANBUL vs Allianz MTV STUTTGART (25-19, 22-25, 25-20, 25-17)

Eczacibasi's Tigers took the court in fighting mood, showing their teeth already at the beginning of the encounter. The hosts with Hande Baladin on service line jumped to 7-4 and thanks to powerful spikes from MacKenzie Adams (6 points in the opening set) and Tijana Bošković (4 pts) they improved it further, reaching six-point margin and 12-6 and 16-10. Coach Tore Aleksandersen reacted by calling time-outs, but it didn't significantly influence the game of Allianz MTV Stuttgart, who struggled a lot in receptions (only 25%).

Allianz MTV Stuttgart quickly learnt the lesson from the first set and even if their reception was still far from perfect, it didn't influence their attack anymore. After a competitive beginning, it was the visiting team that took a two-point lead in the second part. Although, Eczacibasi pushed hard with Bošković turning on scoring-machine-mode with as many as 13 points tallied in 2nd set, the German side was still ahead at 21-17, mainly thanks to a solid performance of Simone Lee (6 points) and Tara Ceasar (5). Ferhat Akbas called time-out, and the hosts managed to score three in a row (21-20). A nail-biting ending was won by Stuttgart after Lee's winning serve.

The team around Tore Aleksandersen tried to keep the momentum. Although, they opened the set pretty well, Eczacibasi quickly erased the difference and became the leading side. Bošković was not slowing down and contributed with 13 points again (71% of success in attack)! The Tigers led 23-18 in the decisive part. Maja Ognjenović was the one who sealed the set win with her impressive dump.

A point-by-point race started the fourth set. But sparked by the home crowd, Eczacibasi managed to prevail and earned a lead again. From 17-15 they confidently marched towards the match victory as they ran away to a six-point-lead. Their main weapon became a block - five winning stuffs in this part. In addition, to prove the value of this component, Bošković closed the game with her monster block.

The Serbian opposite topped the scorers chart with 34 points that included 28 kills, 4 stuffs and 2 aces. She also recorded 60% of success in attack. On the other side, Simone Lee tallied 18 points.