In the first match of the 2023 CEV Champions League quarter-finals, Eczacıbaşı Dynavit defeated the Polish representative Developres Rzeszow 3-1 away with set scores of 25-19, 22-25, 25-16 and 28-26. Orange-whites took the advantage in the quarter-finals with their win.
Eczacıbaşı Dynavit won the set 25-19 with an effective offensive performance from the corner players towards the middle of the set in the first set of the match, which started with mutual points. Orange-whites scored 17 attacks from the corner players throughout the set.
In the second set, the visiting team took the lead and won 25-22.
The orange and white team, who showed their effective play in the first set in the third set, stopped the opponent's attack organization with the number of blocks they made and won the set 25-16. Experienced setter Maja Ognjenovic stood out with her clever pass distribution, while Eczacıbaşı Dynavit's players scored 7 blocks.
In the last set, which was the scene of contentious rallies, the orange-whites continued their steady game and won the set 28-26 and the match 3-1. Team captain Tijana Boskovic became the game's top scorer with 28 points. Irina Voronkova with 15 points and Sinead Jack-Kısal with 12 points played an important role in the victory. Eczacıbaşı Dynavit players achieved a total of 13 blocks.
Expressing her views after the match, national spiker Hande Baladın said, "We are going through a very intense match tempo both in the League and in Europe. With this away win today, we gained a great advantage for the semi-finals of the Champions League. Even though we had our ups and downs throughout the match, as a team, we were able to show our weight and win. Congratulations to my teammates for today's win. Now we will return home as soon as possible and prepare strongly for the derby, where we will play against Galatasaray.”
On the other hand, Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Head Coach Ferhat Akbaş said, "Throughout the match, we had quite a few ups and downs both during and at the beginning of the sets. Even though our performance in the second set was not very effective, I think we gained a significant advantage by winning a very good victory against an experienced team in such a challenging atmosphere. We dream of the semi-finals and then the final. After many years, we would like to go to the semi-finals of the Champions League and we want to have a successful process. For this, we have one more important game to win."
Developres Rzeszow – Eczacıbaşı Dynavit: 1-3
Hall: RCWS Podpromie Rzeszow
Referees: Bernard Valentar (SLO), Andrea Puecher (ITA).
Developres Rzeszow: Wenerska, Kalandadze, Centka, Rapacz, Blagojevidz, Obiadz, Szczygdzowska (L), Orvosova, Jurczyk, Bidzczycka.
Eczacıbaşı Dynavit: Ognjenovic, Voronkova, Yasemin, Boskovic, Hande, Jack-Kısal, Simge (L), Yaprak, Saliha.
Sets: 1-3 (19-25, 25-22, 25-16, 26-28)
Duration: 101 minutes (24,26,21,30)
