Tomis suffers home loss in first semi-final of 2012 CEV Challenge Cup – Volleyball news
Romania’s Tomis CONSTANTA went against archrival Polish team Politechnika WARSZAWSKA in the first round of semis of 2012 CEV Men’s Challenge Volleyball Cup on Wednesday night.
The packed up Constanta sports hall in Romania hosted the match, where visiting Poles stole the show. They posted 3-2 (25-20, 21-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-11) win over Tomis and brightened their chances to go into the finals. Next up, Tomis will travel to Poland
for the return game at the weekend.
MAIYO Philip of Tomis emerged as the top scorer of the match. He put up a valiant effort for his team and contributed match-high 23 points. He was followed by Laurentiu Birau, who added 15 points. Poland’s Zalinski registered team-high 19 points, while Nowak
and Wierzbowski clipped 13 points apiece. Overall, Poles proved to be better in the game and clinched success.
Politechnika was equipped with all necessary tools and tricks of the game. They opened the game with fine delivery of serves coupled with convincing shots. Nonetheless, the hosts responded in the same tone and hit back strongly. As a result, the score soared
up with close gap before Politechnika accelerated the pace in the latter half of the set. Zalinski performed exquisitely well and led Poland to first set win at 25-20.
After dropping the opening set, Tomis came up with a new plan and started heavy strike of volleys. Birau hit the ball from different angles and put Romania in lead. With the help of good attacks and strong defence, Tomis managed to level the game score in
second set. They captured second frame by posting 25-21 on board.
Third set turned into a heated competition as the score tied after two sets. The spectators enjoyed the game of hit ‘n’ run, which continued for 27 minutes. Eventually, Tomis hit the mark and achieved set points, 25-23. It seemed as if Tomis was back in
the game but Politechnika stunned the hosts with back-to-back wins in the third and fourth set, and bagged the match victory.
The winning head coach, Politechnika, Jakub Bednaruk, praised the terrific performance of his team. He shared his thoughts after the match, “This was a very important victory as now we are halfway to make it to the final. We are always very strong at home
and we evidently hope to claim also the return game in Poland.”
Likewise, the star player of the match Patrick Steuerwald expressed his emotions in the following manner, “I am very happy with this win and even though we are not yet qualified for the final, I still hope we’ll win also the next game this weekend in Warsaw.”
One the other hand, the mentor of Romanian team Jorge Cannestracci regretted the loss of important match but seemed quite determined to cover the deficit in the next match in Warsa, Poland. He opined that his team dropped the decision with a narrow margin
and still everything is possible.
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