NOVARA reach second European final with impeccable record
News
Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA have reached a final of the European Cups for the second time in their history, after doing so in 2019 when they triumphed at the very first CEV Champions League Volley Super Finals held in Berlin. The Italian team has achieved this feat with a perfect record of 13 wins in as many matches, including the pre-qualification round – the WEVZA Cup – and all subsequent rounds of the CEV Challenge Cup.
An amazing crowd of over 2,000 spectators supported the home side of VC WIESBADEN in the return match of the semi-finals, celebrating the German team’s historic third place in the competition – an unprecedented achievement for the club in the European Cups. Russian opposite Vita Akimova scored 23 points for NOVARA, thus playing a leading role for her team. On the other side of the net, Izabella Rapacz (14 points) was the leader, delivering a very consistent performance. As it happened in Novara last week, the match was very tough with both teams fighting hard for each single point. In the end, the experience of the players from Novara made the difference (3-1; 25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21), while VC WIESBADEN could anyway be proud of their performance.
Anna Danesi“We wanted to secure a spot in the finals so badly that now we are happy and proud of what we have accomplished. I think that we should congratulate our opponents, as they really showed an amazing spirit and delivered a great performance. They made it very hard for us to gain the qualification to the final. We expect now two more fights: Neptunes NANTES is proving to be a great team and it will be for sure a very tough final.”
Middle blocker of Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA
Christopher Fetting, Managing Director of VC WIESBADEN: “We saw a match today in which at times we did play at their same level. However, NOVARA performed better overall and was more ruthless when things got tricky. Nevertheless, the whole thing was fantastic for our club, the fans, sponsors, and our many supporters. We will all remember this adventure for a long time. I would like to thank everyone who accompanied and supported us on this exciting journey. Our fantastic crowd gave our team a great boost in all of our international matches. In our arena, the enthusiasm in the stands was always there, which also made a huge impression outside Wiesbaden and, of course, in other countries. We want to build on this and have set our sights on Europe for the coming years. Now it is time for the intermediate round of the German Bundesliga and the subsequent playoffs. I hope that we can welcome many fans again to our upcoming matches.”