From March 7 to 12, 2023, matches of the 1/4 finals of the Men's Super League-Budinvest 2022-2023 will be held in Chernivtsi.
According to the regulations of the current season, the quarter-final matches are held by system: three matches till 2 victories.
After the end of the first stage of the competition, quite interesting pairs of rivals have been formed.
"Epicenter-Podolyany" - "Barkom-National Team of Ukraine U-18"
Opening the playoff round fell to the leader and one of the favorites of the current season "Epicenter-Podolyany" and the outsider of the championship of Ukraine "Barkom- National Team of Ukraine U-18". Most likely, the series will continue with two matches, where the winner will be known in advance. However, the playoffs are for each team to have a chance to compete for medals. Volodymyr Romantsov's team also got such a unique chance, and during the season they had several outstanding and unexpected victories ("Zhytichi-Polissya" - 3:2, "Security Police" - 3:2 and "Law Academy" - 3:0).
Mykola Dzhul, libero of "Barkom-National Team of Ukraine U-18": "The team keeps practicing actively and continuously. All players work hard and diligently to improve their skills. Now we have a good psychological climate and a cheerful mood. Fortunately, there are no injured players. As for our opponent, in the composition of "Epicenter-Podolyany" there are qualified players with a high level of technical and tactical training and a lot of game practice. Playing against "Epicenter" is very interesting. You can learn a lot from them!"
Oleksandr Nalozhnyi, outside hitter of "Epicenter-Podolyany": "We are preparing for the final stage in full, the mood is positive. We expect interesting playoff matches. "Barkom-National Team of Ukraine U-18" are young, ambitious guys who always show their willingness to win."
VC "Prometey" - "Security Police-ZUNU-Dynamo"
Predicting the favorite in this match is also possible: it is definitely VC "Prometey". Even during its formation this team demonstrated that it has more than just ambitious plans - the club from Dnipro wants to win the national championship! However, looking back at the last matches of the Ternopil team, you can see with the naked eye how they are becoming a coherent and quite capable team. It is unlikely that in these duels we should expect intrigue in the final result, but it is quite possible that the "policemen" can make noise and get on the nerves of the owners of the "PVLU" arena.
Andrii Levchenko, head coach of VC "Prometey": "The training takes place in the classical mode. We do everything to ensure that the team plays as well as possible. And to endure that the new player Ian Yereshchenko fits in the team well and that we'll have a complete picture of the game that would please our fans. The playoffs are the summation and result of what the team has been doing all season. There will be no "passing" games here. All teams will get ready as much as possible!”
VC "Zhytichi-Polissya" - "The team of the Poltava region. VC Reshetylivka"
Zhytomyr is that team who won an honorable third place at the last moment. Their game throughout the season was unstable, but at crucial moments they know how to find the strength to fight until the last point.
At the same time, the representatives of Poltava Oblast approached the playoff match in almost optimal form for themselves: they won a number of important matches in the regular season, adding confidence and strengthening themselves with middle blocker Ivan Chernyak, who started the current season in Law Academy.
Mykola Kuranov, setter of VC "Zhytichi-Polissya": "We are training in the usual mode: there are no changes in this process, we are preparing as for every other opponent. The mood of the team is positive, everyone wants to win! "Reshetylivka" is a good team, ambitious, like other teams of the Professional Volleyball League of Ukraine. I can single out the leader of the team, Nik Sotnyk, who gave new life to the team after his return to the court. There will be quite a fight and the one who wants it the most will definitely win!"
VC "MHP-Vinnytsia-ShVSM" - VSС "Law Academy"
One of the most interesting matches of the 1/4 finals: representatives of Vinnytsia VC "MHP-Vinnytsia-ShVSM" will play against the Kharkiv team VSС "Law Academy".
These teams lost their winning positions at the last moment: "MHP" moved from third to fourth place, and "lawyers" became fifth.
It's sure to be a fierce battle, and it's possible that we will see a decisive third match, which for sure can be the real highlight of this playoff round!
The schedule of games of the 1/4th finals of the Super League-Budinvest 2022-2023:
1-8 places
March 7 (Tuesday)
17:00 "Barkom-National Team of Ukraine U-18" - "Epicenter-Podolyany"
March 9 (Thursday)
17:00 "Epicenter-Podolyany" - "Barkom-National Team of Ukraine U-18"
March 11 (Saturday)
13:00 (if necessary)
2-7 places
March 7 (Tuesday)
20:00 "Security Police-ZUNU-Dynamo" - VC "Prometey"
March 9 (Thursday)
20:00 VC "Prometey" - "Security Police-ZUNU-Dynamo"
March 11 (Saturday)
16:00 (if necessary)
3-6 places
March 8 (Wednesday)
17:00 "The team of the Poltava region. VC Reshetylivka" - VC "Zhytichi-Polissya"
March 10 (Friday)
17:00 VC "Zhytichi-Polissya" - "The team of the Poltava region. VC Reshetylivka"
March 12 (Sunday)
13:00 (if necessary)
4-5 places
March 8 (Wednesday)
20:00 VSC "Law Academy" - VK "MHP-Vinnytsia-ShVSM"
March 10 (Friday)
20:00 VC "MHP-Vinnytsia-ShVSM" - VSC "Law Academy"
March 12 (Sunday)
16:00 (if necessary)
All matches are played without spectators in the city of Chernivtsi ("PVLU" arena). Watch online broadcasts of the games on the youtube-channel Divisport Volleyball and on the XSport TV channel.
