SC POTSDAM - Allianz MTV STUTTGART

• SC Potsdam also lost the second match of the playoff round against Allianz MTV Stuttgart.
• After the 0:3 away defeat (18:25, 25:27, 19:25) on Thursday, head coach Riccardo Boieri's team also lost 0:3 (19:25, 24:26, 22:25) in the MBS Arena of Potsdam.
• This means that the volleyball players from Baden-Württemberg will move to the quarter-finals of the CEV Champions League Volley. The opponent there is Fenerbahçe Opet Istanbul.
• Stuttgart started the game strongly on Wednesday: Maria Segura Palleres scored the first point.
• A little bit later the guests were ahead 3:1.
• But Anastasia Cekulaev gave SC Potsdam their first lead with a score of 4:3.
• After that, the encounter initially seemed balanced.
• But the guests from Baden-Württemberg were mostly ahead.
• Danielle Harbin and Suvi Kokkonen in particular ensured that the hosts were largely on an equal footing in terms of points.
• But after an attack by Kristal Rivers, the guests pulled away with three points (17:14).
• Shortly later it was 19:14 for Stuttgart – Riccardo Boieri's players made too many mistakes in this phase.
• When the score was 19:22, the Potsdam coach brought Raquel Lazaro (for Guncheva) and Rodica Buterez (for Harbin) into the game. But that didn't change anything. Finally it was 19:25.
• In the second set a block from Eline Timmerman gave Stuttgart the first point.
• The next attack via Rivers ended up in the net - the score was 1:1.
• After a block, SC Potsdam was then ahead (2:1).
• Antonia Stautz made it 3:1. In the meantime, Allianz MTV managed to make it 6:6.
• But the home team was not impressed by this and gradually took control of the action again (10:8, 12:10, 13:11).
• After a ball from Stuttgart landed in the net, the score was 14:11.
• But the guests came back. First it was 16:16, then Rivers took the lead (17:16).
• However, the guests' diagonal attacker put her subsequent service into the net (17:17).
• Potsdam came back (19:17).
• But not long, Maria Segura Palleres ultimately converted the second set point to make it 26:24 for Stuttgart.
• Now it was clear that Potsdam could no longer reach the quarter-finals.
• That's probably why Boieri now changed things up a lot.
• He started the third set with Greta Kiss (for Stautz), Buterez (for Kokkonen) and Lazaro (for Guncheva).
• The German champion from Stuttgart continued to play solidly with Britt Bongaerts.
• And Jolien Knollema scored points so that the volleyball players from Baden-Württemberg pulled away with 8:4.
• After a block, the guests were even ahead by five points (13:8). Later it even said 19:13.
• SC Potsdam fought back a bit, but in the end the third set was lost 22:25.
• Most Valuable Player: Britt Bongaerts (Allianz MTV Stuttgart)

SC POTSDAM

• Kristina Gunchev (captain SC Potsdam): "We were expecting a tough game. I can´t say that something went wrong. Stuttgart pushed us a lot with their service. And in the end they managed to win every set. It was a good game of them and not our best one. We made to much mistakes in the wrong moments."

Allianz MTV STUTTGART

• Konstantin Bitter (head coach Allianz MTV Stuttgart): "It wasn´t an easy game. After the loss from Saturday we were a little bit unsure. In the end we made more points and the important points this time, so we have won  the game. We tried to start very well. We knew, we had to play better than Saturday and the motivation to do so was high."