NOVARA make it 10 wins in a row in international competition
News
Italy’s standout Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA have further extended their winning streak in the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup after their 3-1 victory over Romania’s C.S.O. VOLUNTARI 2005 in the first round of the quarterfinals contested on Tuesday evening. Cristina Chirichella and her colleagues have a perfect record of 10 wins in as many international matches played this season so far by combining the WEVZA Cup – which they claimed back in September – and the Challenge Cup. They also have a truly impressive record of 21 wins in 24 matches across all competitions.
Sara Bonifacio delivered a very consistent performance as she scored 16 points, with four aces, two blocks, and 10 spikes with a 71% success ratio to claim the prize for the Most Valuable Player of the match. The Romanians are the first team to take at least one set from NOVARA on their home soil this year – since all previous opponents, VBC Saviola CASALMAGGIORE, RANDABERG IL, and Olympiacos PIRAEUS had all lost their away fixtures in three sets. The victory for Igor Gorgonzola was however sidelined by an ankle injury suffered by their Dutch outside hitter Anne Buijs. Vita Akimova top scored for the winners with 22 points and her strong serves were highly instrumental especially towards taking the first set – as she scored two aces and put the receivers of the Romanian team under heavy pressure. Heidy Casanova Alvarez top scored for the visitors with 15 points, including eight in the second set alone.
Sara Bonifacio“The game was tough, especially in the first half. After playing a very bad second set, we found a way to raise our level and put more pressure on our opponents, thus managing to win both the third and fourth sets. We know that we have a good advantage after this result, but the away game will be more complicated: they have experienced players and they will do their best to make a comeback, so we will have to stay focused and finish the work. We want to secure a spot in the semi-finals.”
MVP
