Eczacıbaşı VitrA wins the All-Turkish clash

Eczacıbaşı VitrA won the five-set clash against their İstanbul rival Fenerbahçe Opet at the opening match of the 2020 CEV Champions League Volley today. 

• In front of 4,650 volleyball fans, both teams showed how eager they were to begin their #CLVolleyW journey with a solid win at the all-Turkish clash. Both teams struggled in block and defense, knowing each other well from playing before two weeks ago.
• The first set was a very thrilling one with experienced spiker Natalia Zilio Pereira (5 pts) and Fenerbahçe Opet opposite player Melissa Vargas facing head-to-head (6 pts). Collecting three aces in the first set, Eczacıbaşı VitrA came back from a 19-21 loss to a 25-23 lead.
• In the second set, Fenerbahçe Opet striked back with the help of captain Eda Erdem Dündar, who scored 2 block points, and Brankica Mihajlovic yet they couldn’t continue the lead. Eczacıbaşı VitrA middle blocker Lauren Gibbemeyer was on the stage as her team stealed the second set by 25-18.
• Despite home team Eczacıbaşı VitrA’s lead at the beginning of the third set with Tijana Boskovic’s jump serves, Fenerbahçe Opet came out strong against Natalia Pereira’s breathtaking performance with Kelsey Robinson’s clever play (8 pts) and won the set by 25-23. 
• In the fourth set, Fenerbahçe Opet held control of the game with captain Eda Erdem Dündar carrying her team with consecutive quick attacks. Despite home team’s strong serves pushing them, Fenerbahçe Opet extended the game to the tie-break.
• The decider set went on point-by-point until the Oranges and Whites led the game by 8-5 at the side switch. Once again, Tijana Boskovic was on the stage carrying her team to a 15-9 win in the first set and through this result, Tigers collected their first #CLVolleyW win of the season in five sets.
• Being selected as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the match, Natalia Pereira was the best scorer of the day by 26 points.

Simge Sebnem Aköz, co-captain and libero of Eczacıbaşı VitrA Istanbul: “We managed to start our #CLVolleyW campaign with a great win today. I believe we did a good job in putting in our own game strategy by analyzing our opponent well before the match. I would like to congratulate all of my team mates and our technical staff. Many thanks to our fans who once again showed their great support today.”

Eczacıbaşı VitrA – Fenerbahçe Opet: 3-2

Venue: TVF Burhan Felek Volleyball Hall 

Referees: Andrea Puecher, Konstantin Yovchev

Eczacıbaşı VitrA: Lloyd, Natalia, Gibbemeyer, Boskovic, Kim, Beyza, Simge (L), Hande, Gamze, Yasemin. 

Fenerbahçe Opet: Robinson, Eda, Naz, Mihajlovic, Bahar, Vargas, Aylin (L), Melis, Fatma.

Set Results: 3-2 (25-23, 25-18, 23-25, 22-25, 15-10)

Duration: 127 minutes (29, 25, 28, 27, 18)

Go to match gallery.