Lokomotiv Novosibirsk wrap up League Round with 3-1 win – Volleyball news
The Russian men’s volleyball club team Lokomotiv Novosibirsk clashed with the Italian Lube Banca Marche Macerata in the last match of League Round of 2012 CEV Champions League on Wednesday.
The city of Novosibirsk provided the backdrop for the match, which served as a competitive edge for the home team. Besides, the Russian squad was equipped with all necessary tools and tricks to win the match at home soil. Novosibirsk hotshots gave exactly
what the home audience wanted and posted 3-1 (25-21, 32-30, 28-30, 25-17) win over Italian competitors.
Triumph in the last match of preliminaries improved Lokomotiv’s record to 5-1 and team finished the opening round with a total of 14 points. At the end of the League Round, Russian team came on top in the pool rankings.
Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK – 1st Lube Banca Marche MACERATA – 2nd Fenerbahce Grundig ISTANBUL – 3rd Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK – 4th
“It was essential for us to qualify for the Playoffs 12 as first-ranked team,” said the head coach Andrei Voronkov. “We are happy we have beaten MACERATA which was the only team from the group that we had not edged so far.”
The Italian team gave a tough competition to the Lokomotiv Novosibirsk in the crucial match. Home team managed to pull off success in the first set with a margin of four points but faced utmost resistance from the opponent in the next set. The Macerata wing-spikers
and middle-blockers came up with spectacular show of volleyball and created enough trouble for the hosts. Both team exchanged long rallies and incorporated the heavy strike of volleys.
The second set lasted for 36 minutes, while the audience moved back and forth in their seats. The situation was unclear until the final whistle of referee.
Eventually, Novosibirsk hit the mark with sets points and clinched success in second with narrow two-point advantage.
The game continued in the same fashion during third set. The teams showed thirst for victory and played with top-notch players. The ball kept rolling over the net and game took many different turns. The volleyball enthusiasts enjoyed the cracking action
and raised loud slogans in the support of their respective teams and players.
Third set brought good luck for the visiting team and they managed to overcome the resilient rival. It took them 34 minutes to dismantle the power of Russians and finally Italy captured third set, 30-28.
The loss of third set simply aggravated the hosts. They hit back strongly in the following frame and applied all their forces in one direction to put an end to the game in fourth set. Home team started out well and maintained the flow until the end. Italian
team tried hard but failed to save the match. They dropped fourth set 17-25 and acknowledge the better status of Lokomotiv.
The victory slogans of 2,300 spectators echoed the city hall in Novosibirsk. The hosts celebrated the amazing win over Macerata and emerged as the top team in Pool E.
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