2014 DenizBank Champions League
Brilliant debut win over Kazan
LUBE BANCA MARCHE MACERATA – ZENIT KAZAN 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-22)
LUBE BANCA MARCHE MACERATA : Henno (L), Paparoni, Zaytsev 20, Stankovic 7, Kovar 5, Monopoli, Giombini, Kurek 17, Baranowicz 3, Podrascanin 5. DNP Parodi, Patriarca. Coach. Giuliani.
ZENIT KAZAN : Anderson 10, Apalikov 1, Sivozhelez 9, Volkov 6, Grbic 1, Yakovlev, Poletaev, Abrosimov 6, Babichev (L), Mikhailov 15. DNP Mochalov, Kobzar. Coach. Alekno.
A superb Macerata got rid of Kazan in straight sets in the debut game of Pool E in the Champions League. Led by the outstanding Kurek (17 points and 71% in attack) and a terrific Zaytsev (20 points), the Italians had their foot on the pedal from the very beginning. Baranowicz distributed the ball with class to his spikers, who kept high percentages throughout (52% overall). Character and fighting spirit did not go amiss as the reception limited the strong Russian side to just one ace.
Alberto Giuliani (allenatore Cucine Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “Good game, extremely competitive atmosphere. A great result and a big load of confidence. We won the first round, let’s keep our feet on the ground and focus on the coming game against Latina. I am very pleased with our attack today, we not only used power but handled various situations very well, with clever plays too. That’s what I wanted to see from the team”.
Michele Baranowicz (Cucine Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “Our level was much better, we remained focus all the way and obtained a great result”.
Ivan Zaytsev (Cucine Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “This is a superb victory but we have to keep our feet on the ground. We played excellent volleyball against a top class team. We’re only at the start of the season, we’ll enjoy that one but let’s focus on the future. This was a big test for us, the perfect opportunity to show the world and ourselves that we can play volleyball and do so extremely well”.
POOL E
Lube Banca Marche Macerata (ITA) – Zenit Kazan (RUS) 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-22)
Lokomotiv Novosibirsk (RUS) – Posojilnica Aich/Dob (AUT) Thursday 24
