Month: June 2020

Germany’s RTL to pull the plug on F1 at the end of 2020

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German free-to-air broadcaster RTL will not renew its contract with F1 at the end of the season, departing the sport after a continuous 30-year involvement.

RTL Head of Sport, Manfred Loppe, revealed that financial considerations and a “changing competitive environment” were behind the broadcaster’s exit.

“When you have competitors in the game who are prepared to offer double as much as you can then you are forced into a position of having to withdraw.”

“We have broadcast Formula 1 for over three decades with great love and passion, as well as with a plucky readiness for innovation and investment.

“RTL will forever be associated with the most widely viewed, most emotional, unforgotten moments in the top motor racing series.”

    F1 restricts grid access, keeps options open on podiums

Formula 1’s popularity has been inconsistent in Germany in the past few years, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel failing to deliver a world title and the country’s race at Hockenheim falling several times off the calendar.

But viewers have also had two choices to follow Grand Prix racing as they could also rely on cable broadcaster Sky.

The managing director of RTL, Jörg Graf, added: “Competition for TV rights has changed and the market has in part overheated.

“As such it has extended beyond our ambitious, but at the same time economically justifiable, limits.”

RTL’s colorful team of anchors that includes Florian König, lead commentator Heiko Wasser and pit-lane reporter Kai Ebel will enter next month in Austria their final season of broadcasting in F1.

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Burberry to stage live outdoor SS21 show in September

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Burberry has announced it will be showcasing its SS21 collection
via a physical presentation on 17 September.

The luxury label said that the immersive experience will be a homage
to the “purity and simplicity” of the British outdoors and aims to explore
a new space for its community to “reconnect with nature and each other.”
The exact location was not disclosed, though the brand said it is “open for
all to experience digitally.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the fashion calendar in
recent months, with all physical fashion weeks cancelled and replaced with
digital alternatives.

“Now more than ever, we have to reimagine, to change,” Burberry said in
a statement. “We’ve always been drawn to Nature and today we look to the
purity and simplicity of the outdoors – where our founder Thomas Burberry
laid our foundations – redefining our fashion landscape through new forms
of expression.”

Burberry to stage live physical SS21 presentation

Like Burberry’s two previous runway shows, the event will be certified carbon
neutral, meaning measures to minimise the carbon footprint of the
show will be implemented and any remaining emissions will be offset through the label’s regeneration
fund.

“As humans, we have always had a deep affinity to nature. We have had to
respect and rely upon its power for our very existence, whilst marvelling
and revelling in its extraordinary beauty,” said Burberry chief creative
officer Riccardo Tisci in a statement.

“Especially recently, we have all yearned to reconnect again and for
this show, I wanted to celebrate these feelings by bringing our community
together in a creative experience that takes place within the beautiful,
natural landscape of Britain.”

Photo credit: Burberry

Bundesliga: A winning streak came to an end

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Two strenuous months full of games for the European Cup tournaments, the German Pokal and the domestic league got some of the Bundesliga teams into a tangle. And yet, with the first days of February already on the calendar, all German representatives put an end to their respective European campaigns.

Berlin Recycling Volleys has been in the headlines ever since they converted their championship point in “Generali Arena” last year. In our previous Bundesliga update we already pointed out the balance this team possesses. It came as no surprise that they continued their league domination throughout the new season. Moreover, the inconclusive so far season of both arch rivals Generali Unterhaching and VfB Friedrichshafen foreordained a single Champions League Play Off 12 German participation for the “mannschaft” coached by Mark Lebedew.

 

This weekend produced the first upset for the champions. A winning streak of 17 victories in the Bundesliga was suspended in Buhl, where the local TV Ingersoll Buhl finally started to show the potential of its squad after the promising summer signings. A 3-2 (18-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-10) win for the home side saw the pleasant surprise of the last season reach the current 4th position in the table after a disastrous start of the season. Ranked 8th at the end of November, Ingersoll Buhl, led by the inspirational Australian international Adam White, won 8 of 10 recent games and deservedly appeared in top 4.

 

There will not be too much disappointment for Berlin Recycling Volleys as they are surely going to top the standings of the regular season with only two games remaining. Practically, they keep alive all their chances to make it to another final. Besides, the defeat in Buhl, which came after the champions dropped a two-set advantage, is a result of the long series of games they had to play recently. Remarkable were both meetings with the reigning European champions Zenit Kazan. I doubt there was a neutral volleyball fan who would not want to see the Germans put the tie into a Golden Set decider. Two devastating tie-break wins sealed the next round ticket for the Russians, while Berlin met the sympathies of many spectators with their fighting spirit and manifested that they truly belong to the European volleyball elite.

 

Both other main title contenders VfB Friedrichshafen and Generali Unterhaching take turns to make mistakes and thus strengthen the leadership of the metropolitan team. A match between these two sides next weekend at the Bodensee will be of huge importance to grant the second position in the table and will symbolically mark the transition to the play-off phase.

 

Stelian Moculescu had a lot of things to contemplate on this year. Of a team that was once a nightmare to play against, VfB is now having difficulties even getting through the Champions League group stage. The 2007 European Club champions were on the verge of finishing at the bottom of Pool A, but still won a point more than Hypo Tirol Innsbruck. An early quarterfinal elimination in Dueren against evivo (0-3) for the Cup, followed by a shocking defeat in Mitteldeutschland (0-3) for the league in addition to the injury of the star opposite Ventzislav Simeonov digged the pit in front of the Romanian-born coach even deeper. The Bulgarian receiver Valentin Bratoev has arrived in Friedrichshafen lately to act as a joker in the next months, but he might be of no use unless his health problems are resolved until the end of the month.

A bit more optimistic is the situation in Bayern. Unterhaching suffer from mainly psychological burden as the team often seems to underperform. A stunning home defeat against ACH Ljubljana left the Bavarians outside Europe’s most prestigious competition. Haching was close to making a sensation against Andreoli Latina for the CEV Cup after winning in three sets away, but failed in the Golden Set. The journey back to Germany must have exhausted the players of Mihai Paduretu as last weekend the modest TV Rottenburg caught their hosts napping and won in four (26-28, 23-25, 25-14, 29-31). Despite some occasional injuries, Generali Unterhaching has the widest selection of players probably in the whole league. Their most recent signing – the Slovenian international middle-blocker Matevz Kamnik, will additionally offer some more diversity at the net. However, on the brink of an eventual semifinal duel with Moculescu’s Friedrichshafen, Haching better be ready emotionally and physically.

 

Having appeared in last year’s semifinal play-off against Unterhaching, SC Moerser earned the right to participate in the CEV Challenge Cup. The current Polish league surprising leader Delecta Bydgoszcz, comprising of players like Stephane Antiga, Dawid Konarski, Marcin Wika and Michal Masny, was too strong for the small German club though. The Poles won both matches in the 8th-final round. However, we are far away from stating that SC Moerser has been having a bad season. On the contrary, they have one of the most interesting rosters in the Bundesliga and this resulted in their Pokal final qualification. On 3rd March they will have the opportunity to face familiar faces – Generali Unterhaching. 4th in November, SC Moerser dropped in the last two months to the unenviable 7th position, so a Pokal final in Halle might pretty much highlight the 2012-2013 campaign for the Moers underdogs.

 

Standings:

 

1 – Berlin Recycling Volleys, 18 games, 34-2 points
2 – Generali Unterhaching, 17, 28-6
3 – VfB Friedrichshafen, 16, 24-8
4 – TV Ingersoll Buhl, 17, 20-14
5 – evivo Dueren, 17, 18-16
6 – CV Mitteldeutschland, 18, 18-18
7 – Moerser SC, 16, 14-18
8 – TV Rottenburg, 16, 14-18
9 – Netzhoppers KW-Bestensee, 16, 10-22
10- VC Dresden, 17, 4-30
11- VCO Berlin, 20, 0-40

Superleague quarter-finals: BIG Four without a Champions League winner!

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Belogorie Belgorod shot down Lokomotiv Novosibirsk and completed n the semifinals set-up. This phase will be historical because only Zenit Kazan repeated its last year’s success, and was promoted to the top four while Dinamo Moscow (vice-champion), Iskra Odincovo (Bronze medalist), and Lokomotiv Novosibirsk  (4th place) will not be among bests.

 

Lokomotiv Novosibirsk – Belogorie Belgorod 0-3 (18-25, 21-25, 22-25)

Lokomotiv: Butko 2, Zhilin 8, Volvich 3, Nilsson 13, Biryukov 10, Gutsalyuk 5, Golubev (L) and Zubkov 0, Voronkov 0, Leonenko 3, Sidenko (L)

Belogorie: Makarov 2, Khtey 7, Muserskiy 16, Grozer 17, Tetyukhin 9, Duff 7, Ermakov (L) and Kosarev 0, Kobzar 0, Zhigalov 0

Stats: Points: 61:75, Serve: 2:10, Attack: 32:39, Block: 10:9, Reception: 31%:63%, Errors: 17:17

Play-off: 2 – 3

Belgorod went off to a good start in the first set with successful attacks of Gorgy Grozer and Dimitry Muserskiy (1-4). Aleksander Butko tried to take control of the game but in vain because the guests disposed a full range of plays showing much more comprehensive sets and increased its handicap with effective spike of Tars Khtey (4-8). A lack of Lukas Divis (injury) was becoming more and more visible ball by ball. Neither Denys Biryukov nor Ilya Zhilin was not able fill in the Slovak’s work especially in the offensive area. Therefore, Belogorie was leading over the net in block and attack. Sergey Tetyukhin added several points while Nilsson responded being still lonely but helped to reduce the loss (14-16). It occurred to be a last hurrah of Lokomotiv in the first set. The club European champion has collected just four points yet ,as the result, a block on Markus Nilsson finished the first set of (18-25).

Having gained a three points advantage thanks to Biryukov’s spike and block, the hosts awaked after the first set (5-2) but not for long. Belogorie scored three next points and afterwards, they went down to the technical time-out with a leadership (6-8). Then, Nilsson and Gatsalyuk were blocked and Zhilin made a mistake (7-12), however, a series of ineffective actions of Khtey led to re-clinch (12-12). Both teams found it difficult to break away in the score (16-16) until Belgorod was the first to get a margin of two points (17-19). Muserskiy took the low into his own hands and along with Tetyukhin ended the second side (21-25).      

The third set was a sheer show of Lokomotiv Novosibirsk’s awkwardness which is unworthy for the winner of the Champions League. Marcus Nilsson and rest started up with very high advantage. At first 5-1, then 8-3 and finally they reached even seven points predominance (10-3), but as it turned out, the result was not enough. Belogorie scored five points in a row and immediately got closer to its opponents (10-8) and after nine even consecutive actions regained the lead (13-14). Then, Gorgy Grozer moved the sixth gear like in a good German car that caused to escape to a larger gap in points (14-18, 16-21). The last part belonged to “Dima” Muserskiy despite few mistakes commitment. The Russian “Giant” made one block and finished of the match by an attack.   

Semifinals schedule

Zenit Kazan – Belogorie Belgorod

Gubernia Nizhny Novgorod – Ural Ufa

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The semifinal matches will be played in April ( 25, 26, 29, 30) and in May (3).

WL: Brazil outclassed Bulgaria! Revenge for the Olympics tomorrow!

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Brazil – Bulgaria? This game was not worthy of a name “semifinal”. It can be brought up only one mathematical value to confirm this statement. 31%!  This hundredth of a number shows how many points of all were a result of unforced errors. Bulgarian totally lost its head and donated two first sets for free, but Brazil did not want to be debt giving the third part by mistakes. The last set easily fell prey to “Canarinhos”, who will face Russia in Sunday’s World League Final.

 

 

 

Brazil – Bulgaria 3 – 1 (25-12, 25-17, 23-25, 25-16)

Brazil: Bruno 2, Dante 7, Isac 9, Wallace 24, Lucarelli 15, Lucas 10, Mario Jr. (L) and William, Fonteles 2, Mauricio 2
Bulgaria: G. Bratoev 2, Aleksiev 16, Gotsev 3, Sokolov 6, Skrimov 1, Yosifov 5, Salparov (L) and Milushev 5, Dimotrov, V. Bratoev 7, Penchev

The win, Brazil’s 11th in 13 matches in this year’s World League, continued Brazil’s impressive World League record against Bulgaria which now stands at 18:3, including two 3-1 wins during the Intercontinental Round in Brasília.

With middle blocker Isac starting for the first time in the Finals, they charged to a 10-7 lead after Lucarelli blocked Bulgarian powerhouse Tsvetan Sokolov before advancing to 22-11 as Bulgaria, who had reached consecutive World League semifinals for the first time in World League history, looked desperately amongst themselves for some inspiration. Their receiving, passing and attacking accuracy all going astray. Wallace, who would go onto to top score in the game with 24 points, was particularly impressive registering seven as a beautiful floating serve from Bruno sealed the first set, Brazil’s 1,000th in World League history.

The second set was a similar picture with the nine-time World League champions keeping Bulgaria scoreless while registering four themselves. Bulgaria’s major attacking weapon and top scorer in the competition Sokolov finally got last year’s fourth placed team – their best ever World League result – on the board. The rest of the set went with ebbs and flows as skipper Todor Aleksiev closed the gap to 7-5 with a delicious spike down the line but Wallace helped extend the lead out to 14-9 with a smashing cross court kill. Wallace and Bruno were guilty of miscommunication soon after when a set went unattended at 15-11 but that only sparked the world champions into action, who rattled off three points before it was soon set point. Despite a challenge from Bulgaria, Brazil had the second set 25-17.

Bulgaria led for the first time since the first point of the match when Aleksiev sent down an ace to lead 1-0 before Valentin Bratoev put the Brazilian reception under enormous pressure with outstanding serving. Bulgaria led 8-4 and 9-5 when Georgi Brateov blocked Lucarelli. The lead went out to 11-5 before Brazil fought their way back to 18-16 down. In a big call, Bulgaria coach Camillo Placi subbed off Sokolov and when Svetoslav Gotsev spiked into the net and then was called for a double touch, it looked to be the wrong one however, Bulgaria did enough to keep their noses ahead as Aleksiev spiked off the block to take the match to the fourth set. Dante, who suffered a knee injury in the penultimate rally of the set, stood out the rest of the match.

The fourth set started more even than any of the previous three as, with the score at 8-7, Placi brought on his bench looking for a way to unsettle the favourites. However Bernardinho did the same and it brought immediate dividends for Brazil. Bruno serving they rushed out to a 12-7 lead thanks to Wallace who was on fire. Danail Milushev finally converted a cross court spike to break the run but Brazil were back on a roll, soon leading 16-9. Although Aleksiev tried to inspire his troops with some devastating spiking and deft touches it was to no avail as Lucarelli wrapped up the match with his 15th point of the game.

Team Stats:

ActionsSpike pointsSpike %BlockServeDigReceptionSets noteUnforced ErrorsBrazil5655%872958%10.525Bulgaria3637%811455%9.2527

 

Leaders Fight:

Actions/PlayersPointsSpike pointsSpike %Spike errorsBlockServeUnforced ErrorsWallace242067%1225Tsvetan Sokolov6621%80012

 

Picture: FIVB
Description: FIVB
 

Female Euro Volley – Preview

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On Friday in Germany and Switzerland starts Female European Championships. 16 teams will fight for gold medal. It’s high time to check strength of every team, who’s favourite and who can surprise. As an addition tournament’s schedule.

 

Pool A

Germany

Team will get support from spectators as host. Middle blocker Christiane Fürst and opposite Margareta Kozuch are the biggest stars here. Weakness can be instable outside hitters. Expectations are high, aim is Final Four, president of Germnan Volleyball Association talks even about gold.

Turkey

Team with new coach Massimo Barbolini can fight for medal zone. Important here is opposite Neslihan Demir. Weakness can be middle blockers and lack of good substitutes, especially outside hitters. Miss will be lack of offensive wing spiker Neriman Ozsoy.

Spain

Team is regular member of euro Volley in last years. Players are rather not really known for further audience. Important here can be setter Patricia Aranda, opposite Milagros Collar, talented is young wing spiker Jessica Rivero.

Netherlands

“Oranje” in last years rebuilt roster and they have many new players. Main links here will be outside hitter Anne Buijs and middle blocker Robin De Kruijf. Weakness can be opposites, both Manon Flier and Judith Pietersen struggled in last NT games. Miss will be opposite Loneke Sloetjes, who’s out because of serious shoulder injury and she can miss even 6 months.

Pool B

Belgium

Runner-up of Eurpean League has solid team and can mess up here a bit. Team bases on setter Frauke Dirickx and outside hitter Charlotte Leys. Many players are young here, but they got chance to be in NT thanks to good policy of Belgain Volley Association, who counts on young perspective players.

France

Team without bigger stars, but plays like collective. Biggest talent is middle blocker Christina Bauer. Only missing player is wing spiker Alexia Djilali. Team should advance further, but probably only to Play-Offs.

Switzerland

Second host, who will have support. Team has no stars. Remarkable are opposite Mandy Wigger and outside hitter Ines Granvorka. I don’t see this team even in Play-Offs.

Italy

“Azzure” in last years based on experienced players. Now when most of them have year off, Marco Mencarelli called other girls. Team relies on outside hitter Carolina Costagrande, opposite Valentina Diouf and middle blockers Martina Guiggi and Valentina Arrighetti. Back in team will appear wing spiker Lucia Bosetti, but she’s after finger injury and her shape can be worse than usual.

Pool C

Russia

“Sborna” in last years was always dangerous. However, after World Championships 2010 they didn’t achieve good results in last Euro Volley (6th) and in Olympic Games (lost in QF with Brazil after tiebreak). Team left opposite Ekaterina Gamova and wing spker Liubov Sokolova. Now main strength is opposite Natalya Obmochaeva and outside hitter Tatiana Kosheleva. Out of team is middle blocker Maria Borodakova, still not recover from injury other middle blocker, Irina Zaryazhko, she can be ready for finals.

Azerbaijan

Team relies mostly on their two hard hitting wing spikers: Natalya Mammadova and Polina Rahimova. Azerbaijan didn’t achieve anything special in Euro Volley competitions, but in last years is reagular participant.

Croatia

Team quite talented, but last medal in Euro Volley got in 1999. They have many good players like opposite Sanja Popovic, outside hitters Senna Usic and Mia Jerkov or middle blocker/opposite Samanta Fabris.

Belarus

Team appeared 6th time in Euro Volley, last appearance was in 2009. They have known players such as opposite Marina Tumas or outside hitter Katsiaryna Zakreuskaya, however these players may not appear in Euro Volley. Belarus should fight with Azerbaijan for a place in Play-Offs.

Pool D

Poland

Team coached by Piotr Makowski disappointed during World Grand Prix. It’s hard to find idea, we saw many changes in line-up. The biggest star is wing spiker Katarzyna Skowrońska-Dolata, but she doesn’t have big support from teammates. Main problem are weak outside hitters. Looking at opponents, “white and reds” should find a place in Play-Offs beating at least one from pair Bulgaria/Czech Republic.

Serbia

Team is strong what proved World Grand Prix. Zoran Terzic can be calm about advance to quarterfinal, though Bulgaria can surprise them. Team has many stars, opposite Jovana Brakocevic, middle blocker Milena Rasic, outside hitter Brankica Mihajlovic, setter Maja Ognjenovic and so on. They are strong enough to defend title which they got as host two years ago.

Bulgaria

Team had really good performance in World Grand Prix and they were close to Final Six. Good job did wing spikers: Dobriana Rabadzhieva, Elitsa Vasilieva and Emilya Nikolova. We shouldn’t forget also about setter Lora Kitipova and middle blocker Strashimira Filipova. Team can mess up here.

Czech Republic

Girls coached by Carlo Parisi don’t have an easy task in beating three Slovian teams. Key player here is opposite Aneta Havlickova. Weakness during Grand Prix were outside hitters and middle blockers, except youngster Michaela Mlejnkova.

My prediction:

To Quarterfinals directly advance should Germany, Italy, Russia and Serbia.

Play-Offs should look:
Turkey – Azerbaijan
Croatia – Netherlands
Belgium – Poland
Bulgaria – France

Later everything can happen, even Bulgaria can appear in medal zone and it’ll be only their success. For me the biggest favorite for gold now is Serbia. Turkey, Germany, Russia, Italy and Bulgaria can beat for silver and bronze. Of course others like Poland, Belgium or Croatia can also surprise us with good performance.

Tournmanet Schedule:
Group stage:
Pool A – Halle (GER)
06-09 Germany – Spain 17:00
06-09 Netherlands – Turkey 20:00
07-09 Germany – Netherlands 17:00
07-09 Spain – Turkey 20:00
08-09 Spain – Netherlands 15:00
08-09 Turkey – Germany 18:00

Pool B – Zurich (SUI)
06-09 Italy – Switzerland 18:00
06-09 France – Belgium 20:30
07-09 Italy – France 15:00
07-09 Switzerland – Belgium 18:00
08-09 France – Switzerland 15:30
08-09 Belgium – Italy 18:30

Pool C – Dresden (GER)
06-09 Azerbaijan – Croatia 17:30
06-09 Belarus – Russia 20:30
07-09 Azerbaijan – Belarus 17:30
07-09 Croatia – Russia 20:30
08-09 Belarus – Croatia 15:00
08-09 Russia – Azerbaijan 18:00

Pool D – Schwerin (GER)
06-09 Serbia – Bulgaria 17:00
06-09 Czech Republic – Poland 20:00
07-09 Serbia – Czech Republic 17:00
07-09 Bulgaria – Poland 20:00
08-09 Czech Republic – Bulgaria 15:00
08-09 Poland – Serbia 18:00

Play-Offs & Quarterfinals:
10-09 2nd A – 3rd C 17:00 Halle (GER)
10-09 2nd C – 3rd A 20:00 Halle (GER)
10-09 2nd B – 3rd D 17:30 Zurich (SUI)
10-09 2nd D – 3rd B 20:30 Zurich (SUI)

11-09 1st A – 2nd C/3rd A 17:00 Halle (GER)
11-09 1st C – 2nd A/3rd C 20:00 Halle (GER)
11-09 1st B – 2nd D/3rd B 17:30 Zurich (SUI)
11-09 1st D – 2nd B/3rd D 20:30 Zurich (SUI)

Semifinals/Finals – Berlin (GER):
13-09 winner from QF 17:00 Halle – winner from QF 17:30 Zurich – 17:00
13-09 winner from QF 20:00 Halle – winner from QF 20:30 Zurich – 20:00
14-09 3rd Place – losers from SF – 17:00
14-09 Final – winners from SF -20:00

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CWCH: Vakifbank with title continues winning strike!

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Vakifbank Istanbul definitely writes history. They win 52 matches in a row, getting title of Turkish League, Turkish Cup and Champions League. New trophy is World Club Champion. Opposite Jovana Brakocevic is chosen the best player of tournament.

3rd Place Match:

Gunagdong Evergrande – Volero Zurich 3-1 (24-26 25-23 25-18 25-21)
Evergrande: J.S.Shen (4), R.Q.Hui (13), Y.L.Xu (12), Hodge (11), T.Zhu (24), J.J.Yang (1), X.Zhang (L) and Faucette, N.Wang, Guiggi (2)
Volero: Karine (5), Osmokrovic (17), Onyejekwe (8), Rykhliuk (15), Carcaces (23), Golubovic (11), Sano (L) and Granvorka, Unternahrer, Gogic (1), Klaric

Volero’s Kenia Carcaces was quickly into her spiking rhythm and contributed three points as the hosts took an 8-7 lead at the first technical timeout. Carcaces and teammate Mira Golubovic continued to try and smash their way through the Chinese defence, but Guangdong Evergrande always defend well and turned the tables with an ace from captain Ruoqi Hui at 16-14. Lang Ping’s squad kept a two-point lead until 23-21. However, momentum changed again with Golubovic serving an ace to offer Zurich a first set ball at 24-23. Yunli Xu saved one but could not prevent Carcaces from smashing the first set home for the hosts.

Good serves allowed the Chinese to take a slight lead before Natasa Osmokrovic delivered a clever shot to even the scores at 11-11. 19-year young Laura Unternaehrer served successive shots as Switzerland moved into a 15-11 lead, but Ting Zhu slugged Guangdong back into the match and it remained tight to 18-18 when China opened up a two-point gap. Zurich coach Jan de Brandt called a timeout but it did not help. A Carcaces fault gave the Asians a chance of taking the set and Zhu concluded by hammering the Mikasa down to make it 1-1.

Spikes from Carcaces and opposite Olesia Rykhliuk helped Volero Zurich move into a 11-8 lead in the third set but China were quickly back in the game. Setter Shen served two aces to lead Evergrande to a two-point lead at the second technical break. The Asian champions were successful at the net and that helped them into a five-point lead at 22-17. Volero showed glimpses of their attacking form but the gap was too big to close against the resilient Chinese. A Zhu missile finished things off.

Sunday’s bronze medal match featured a tough battle between the two key players: Ting Zhu (19 points in the first three sets) and Kenia Carcaces (21) led their teams with sparkling offensive game and exemplary fighting spirit. Volero experienced the better start into the fourth set but Guangdong bounced back after a four-point deficit and regained momentum at the second technical break (16-14). Zhu came up with another rocket and a service winner by Yunli Xu put China 23-20 ahead. Guangdong Evergrande got match point with another ace by Xu and Zhu, again, sent down the winning shot to earn the Asians the bronze medal.

Team Stats:

ActionSpike pointsSpike %BlockServeReceptionDigsErrorsEvergrande5641%4758%218Volero6543%10556%3032

 

Team Leaders:

ActionPointsSpike PointsSpike %Spike errorsBlockServeErrorsTing Zhu242346%4105Kenia Carcaces232347%3006

 

Final:

Vakifbank Istanbul – Unilever Rio De Janeiro 3-0 (25-23 27-25 25-16)
Vakifbank: Aydemir (3), Sonsirma (14), Toksoy (4), Brakocevic (23), Costagrande (5), Furst (7), Karadayi (L) and Akin, Onal Pasaoglu
Unilever: Fofao (1), Gabriela (10), Juciely (5), Pavan (8), Mihailovic (7), Carol (12), Fabi (L) and Bruna, Roberta, Amanda

Sarah Pavan and Carol got in a couple of smashes and a nice tipover early on but Turkey’s Jovana Brakocevic responded with some good shots of her own, but there was little to separate the two teams in the first stages of the opening set. A kill by captain Kirdar Sonsirma Gözde put Vakifbank Istanbul two points up at the second technical timeout. A quick Brazilian combination helped Unilever to reduce the gap to one point at 22-23 but it was already too late. At 24-23, Brakocevic brought up set point with a blistering winner from the right wing. The South Americans then failed to deal with another Brakocevic hammer and the Europeans were 1-0 up in the match.

Showing no sign of fatigue after a tough tournament, Istanbul roared ahead 10-6 in the second set, igniting a party atmosphere among the Turkish fans wearing red and black. Brazil coach Bernardinho called a timeout and Unilever soon smashed their way back into the set, inching to within one point at 15-16. However, it did not last, Turkey edging back in front with setter Naz serving two winners to make it 18-15. The roller-coaster ride continued with strong Brazilian defense and the Bernardinho team firing back. Brakocevic and her teammates kept calm and when Gabi missed wide, the European champions had their first set point. They needed three attempts to eventually prevail with Sarah Pavan’s shot landing some centimetres behind the baseline.

Gözde and Fürst each showed their power to move the score on to 8-4 for Vakifbank Istanbul early in the third set. Desperate to stay alive in the final, Brankica Mihajlovic finally penetrated the Turkish wall to narrow the gap to 7-9. Both teams set up quick attacks through the middle combined with powerful spikes from their outstanding opposites. Brakocevic smacked another winner to extend Turkey’s lead to 16-11 at the second technical timeout. Fürst’s monstrous hit made it 18-11, forcing Bernardinho to call his last timeout. Gabi retaliated for Brazil, yet there was no stopping Brakocevic’s relentless assault as Istanbul moved forward. Fittingly on match point, it was Brakocevic who soared high and launched a missile deep into Unilever’s back-court. Amanda stretched as far as she could, but her bump sailed farther behind her, and Turkey jumped for joy. The set was theirs at 25-16, and with it they had their first world title.

Team Stats:

ActionSpike pointsSpike %BlockServeReceptionDigsErrorsVakifbank4641%7374%3621Unilever3231%11045%2621

 

Team Leaders:

ActionPointsSpike PointsSpike %Spike errorsBlockServeErrorsJovana Brakocevic231944%6319Ana Carolina Da Silva12542%1704

 

Best Players:
MVP: Jovana Brakocevic (Vakifbank)
Setter: Jingsi Shen (Evergrande)
Opposite: Sarah Pavan (Unilever)
Outside Hitters: Kenia Carcaces (Volero), Gozde Sonsirma (Vakifbank)
Middle Blockers: Christiane Furst (Vakifbank), Carol (Unilever)
Libero: Yuko Sano (Volero)

Descriptions: FIVB

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Champs will be champs

access_timePosted on by BLOGGERPARUNG

When it comes to championships, Unilever talks. Defending champions overcame Sesi-SP to clinch a second successive Superleague title and 9th overall, the highest total in Brazilian League history. Legendary 44 years old Fofão earned the MVP award.

 

The preliminary round didn’t look very promising. Ranked 3rd and 17 points off the pace, Unilever definitely was far away from its heyday. Nevertheless, sometimes it takes losses to mould a winner and Unilever turned regular-season defeats into winning lessons.
The improvement over the competition happened when the team came to grips with passing and Fofão bounced back to the semifinals.

In the opening set, Unilever held a dominating spike advantage 12-7, in addition to an 2-6 faults margin, to nail it (21-11).
Following the trend, the team bolted a 5-1 lead in the second set with an ace from Carol and stretched its advantage serving (5-2) and spiking (13-6) better than the opponent. Amanda came on to serve and ended the frame with an ace at 21-12.
Sesi came back in the third set determined to not lose in 3 and built an astonishing 11-1 lead with great services. Unilever was unable to reverse the lead and lost at 13-21.
After a low moment in the match, Unilever managed to regroup and get the upper hand in the fourth and decisive set. Gabi at hitting and Juciely at blocking gave no chance to a new comeback from Sesi who was handily defeated in the end.
Unilever is a nine-times Superleague champion.

The final was attended by 10,500 fans.

Awards
MVP: Fofão (Unilever)
Best server: Tandara (Vôlei Amil)
Best spiker: Andréia (EC Pinheiros)
Best blocker: Thaísa (Molico/Nestlé)
Best reception: Verê (Brasília Vôlei)
Best digger: Monique (Banana Boat/Praia Clube)
Best setter: Macris (EC Pinheiros)

Standings
1. Unilever
2. Sesi-SP
3. Molico/Nestlé
4. Vôlei Amil
5. Banana Boat/Praia Clube
6. EC Pinheiros
7. São Cristóvão/São Caetano
8. Brasília Vôlei
9. Barueri
10. São Bernardo Vôlei
11. Uniara/AFAV
12. Decisão Engenharia/Minas
13. Rio do Sul/Equibrasil
14. Maranhão Vôlei

 

 

 

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