"Budinvest" League Cup.
1/2 of the final. 1 match.
Chernivtsi. SC "Malenkyi Paryzh". December 21.
VC "Prometey" - VC "MHP-Vinnytsia" - 3:2 (22:25, 25:15, 23:25, 25:17, 16:14)
VC "Prometey": Dmytro Shapoval (29 points), Oleksandr Tomilin (6), Dmytro Yanchuk (17), Oleksandr Hladenko (3), Vitalii Shchytkov (4), Heorhii Klepko (11), Oleksandr Boiko (L) - starting line-up; Vadym Patratii (L), Denys Veletskyi (11), Ivan Kryvobok (2), Serhii Riabov (2), Taras Oleksiuk (0).
VC "MHP-Vinnytsia": Danylo Uryvkin (20), Ruslan Osypenko (6), Andrii Stebletskyi (8), Serhii Mishchenko (9), Bohdan Tatarenko (12), Stanislav Velychko (13), Yaroslav Pampushko (L) - starting line-up; Andrii Ratushniak (2), Viktor Ivashchenko (0).
The opening day of the "Budinvest" League Cup did not bring any unexpected results in all quarter-final confrontations. The semi-final stage opened with a match between "Prometey" and "MHP-Vinnytsia", the first and third teams of the championship according to the results of the second circle. At the same time, they were divided by 13 scoring points in the tournament table, and in two personal matches, the team from Trostianets did not win a single set against the opponent.
Today's match fully corresponded to the semi-final status in the Cup, and its winner was determined in five sets. In the debut match, Kostyantyn Ryabukha's team acted on equal footing with one of the leaders of domestic volleyball, repeatedly taking the lead. But in the middle of the set, the Dnipro team managed to create a 5-point gap over the opponent (13:8). This development of events did not upset the team from Trostianets, and they regained the lead with a powerful 7:1 surge. The head coach of "Prometey" Andrii Levchenko took a time-out, but after that, the opponent was stronger in two rallies. At the end of the set, the handicap of "MHP-Vinnytsia" was the whole 4 points (21:17, 24:20), after which the team from Trostianets deservedly won the set.
This local success of the opponent angered the Dnipro team for no reason, and they started the second set with a 4:1 run. However, "Prometey" did not manage to develop its advantage for a long time. It happened already in the second half of the set, and unlike the opening one, Andrii Levchenko's team did not lose the initiative and tied the score in the match with a convincing victory in the set - 25:15.
The ten-minute break went in favor of "MHP-Vinnytsia". The team leveled the game again, and with the score 8:6 in their favor, they forced Andrii Levchenko to take a time-out. A small pause benefited "Prometey" and the team quickly took the lead - 10:9, 13:11. In the second half of the set, there was a fierce struggle. The fans were able to enjoy quite a few long rallies, and the lead was passed from one team to another. At the end of the set, "MHP-Vinnytsia" won the right to two set balls, and the second of them was used by an effective middle attack by Stanislav Velychko.
The fourth set started with a great 7:1 surge of "Prometey". In response, the Trostianets team reduced its deficit to a minimum (12:13) in the first half of the set. The coaching staff of "Prometey" took a time-out, which helped the players of the team to regain the initiative. At the most necessary moment, the Dnipro team worked well, resulting in effective attacks. "Prometey" confidently won this set with a score of 25:17.
The decisive fifth set began with a wonderful 7:2 surge of "Prometey". For a short set, it was more than a solid advantage. However, in the second half of the set, "MHP-Vinnytsia" came close to the opponent by two points several times, and on the serve of Stanislav Velychko, the score became even - 13:13. The first finalist was determined in the "more-or-less" game. It was "Prometey". The team defeated its opponent both in this set (16:14) and in the match in general (3:2).
