CEV Champions League. Group stage. 1st round
Monza Italy. December 7
"Vero Volley" — SC "Prometey" 3-0 (25:17, 25:20, 25:21)
The current champion of Ukraine SC "Prometey" started in the Champions League 2022/23 with an away match against "Vero Volley", which is the favorite of group B. The Italian giant won 3-0 on its own court in Monza. However, our volleyball players put up a fight and pleased their own fans with a wonderful game.
The starting minutes of the confrontation was for the "red and white" - 2:4. However, the Italians did not stay in the role of catchers for long: on the serve of the setter Alesia Orro, they made a spurt - 11:6. Our volleyball players never managed to organize a good attack in those minutes to "take off". In the end, they were helped by their rivals, who hit the net.
Ivan Petkov's time-out encouraged his team to make a comeback - 13:12. For their part, housewives began to act more carefully on the block. In addition, they had a pitch. For example, Miriam Silla earned two consecutive aces — 18:13. The Ukrainian team failed to overcome such a handicap - 25:17.
The beginning of the second set was even - 5:5. Then Silla again reminded of itself by successfully introducing the ball into the game - 7:5. "Prometey" equally tried not to let its opponents go far. His players fought for every point - 14:12.
In general, the teams demonstrated the same pace of play, and only individual mistakes prevented our club from getting hold of the game - 19:14. The effective actions of Daria Velykokon and Oleksandra Milenko at the end of this section slightly spoiled the mood of the Italians and gave us optimism before the third set - 25:20.
There, the "red and whites" continued to impose a struggle on the Marko Gaspari team - 10:7. But, of course, it was very difficult to resist the formidable weapon of "Vero Volley" in the person of, in particular, Jovana Stevanovych. At a certain moment, the Italians were leading with an advantage of eight points — 20:12. However, they believed in their own victory early, which gave the Ukrainian team hope for a comeback - 22:20. Unfortunately, the hosts still had the last word — 25:21.
