Perugia Passed Lube In Straight Sets, Shocking Defeat in Türkiye

The next round of the #CLVolleyM group stage is about to start in a few days, and the most elite clubs of the continent took the court against strong opponents in their domestic leagues this weekend. While Perugia came too strong for Lube in the most anticipated clash with Italy, Ziraat Bankasi also suffered a shocking defeat in Türkiye.

The CEV Champions League Volley participant Cucine Lube Civitanova visited Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia in the fifteenth round of the Italian SuperLega. It was a crucial clash for both teams in the sense of closing the gap with Itas Trentino, and with a superior game from the first ball to the last, Perugia defeated Lube in straight sets (3-0: 25-14, 25-20, 25-17).

Oleh Plotnytskyi and Wassim Ben Tara became the top scorers on the winning side with 13 points apiece, followed by Roberto Russo by nine. Turkish opposite Adis Lagumdzjia and French middle blocker Barthelemy Chinenyeze’s 10 points were insufficient for Lube.

Perugia, therefore, kept their vice-leader position with 11 victories in total and did not let Trentino increase the gap. This was the fifth failure for Lube, but they still stand in fourth place in the charts. Trentino continued leading the overall standings in Italy with only one defeat so far, followed by Perugia, Piacenza, and Lube, respectively.

Ziraat Bankasi Ankara has shown a perfect performance in the CEV Champions League Volley season so far, but this was different for them this weekend in their country: They met Arkas Spor in the fifteenth week of the Turkish Efeler League. The home side Arkas performed better throughout the game and took a three-set victory without any difficulties (3-0: 25-16, 25-17, 25-21).

There was a quite balanced score distribution in Arkas since four players scored in double digits in three sets: Gyorgy Grozer (16), Nicholas Hoag (15), Efe Ramazan Mandıracı (15), and Ertuğrul Gazi Metin (11). None of the players produced that much on the losing side, and Matthew Anderson scored nine.

Halkbank Ankara continued to stand at the top of the standings in Türkiye by taking their fifteenth victory in fifteen clashes, followed by Fenerbahce (14-1) and Ziraat Bankasi (11-4).

After receiving a shocking defeat in the CEV Champions League Volley, all eyes were also on Jastrzebski Wegiel. They took the court against PSG Stal Nysa and became victorious by 3-1 (20-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-15). This will not only mean a simple victory for the winning side, but they regain their mental strength as well, before their next clash in the most prestigious tournament of Europe.