DEVELOPRES RESOVIA – A. CARRARO IMOCO CONEGLIANO 0-3
(22-25, 17-25, 27-29)
Developres Resovia: Honorio 6, Korneluk 5, Jasper 13, Machado 4, Centka ne, Wenerska 2, Szczyglowska (L), Chmielewska, Fedusio 4, Dudek 9, Vicet ne, Fedorek ne, Kubas (L) ne, Jurczyk 6. Coach: Masek
A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano: Gabi 15, Zhu 18, Seki, Eckl ne, Lubian ne, De Gennaro (L), Haak 12, Wolosz 1, Adigwe 1, Lanier ne, Lukasik, Chirichella 4, Fahr 8, Bardaro (L) ne. Coach: Santarelli
Referees: Dobrev (Bul) and Bensimon (Isr)
Set Duration: 29′, 22′, 34′
Notes: Service errors Re 9, Co 7; Aces 5-1; Blocks 7-10
MVP: Gabi
Resovia, it’s you again. It’s time for the CEV Champions League quarterfinals, and Antonio Carraro Imoco Conegliano visits Developres in Poland for the first leg of the doubleheader. The Panthers face Resovia for the seventh time in the competition, making it the most frequently encountered team in Europe’s top tournament: the last meeting was at Palaverde (3-0), a month and a half ago during the CEV Champions League group stage.
Coach Daniele Santarelli also welcomes back Sarah Fahr among the starters; she’ll play in the middle with Chirichella, the diagonal is Wolosz-Haak, Gabi and Zhu are the wing spikers, and De Gennaro is the libero. On the other side, Coach Masek fields the Wenerska-Honorio diagonal, Jurczyk and Fedusio as wing spikers, Jasper and Korneluk as middle blockers, and Szczyglowska as the libero.
The Panthers bring bricks and mortar in the first set, with the balance broken by blocks (5 team blocks for the 0-1 lead): Fahr, Haak, Gabi, and Zhu, with 4 consecutive blocks, secure the first big run of the match for Antonio Carraro (8-1, leading to 9-15). Machado brings the Polish team closer (15-17), Fedusio ties it up (22-22): in the hottest moment, Zhu steps up big, closing the set with 8 points on the board and a 50% attack rate, finishing as the match’s top scorer with 18 points and just 2 errors. Lukasik and Seki come in during the first set to bolster the Panthers’ serving and defense.
Chirichella takes the lead and guides Antonio Carraro Imoco’s attack when they trail Resovia early in the second set (3 points at 8-6), then Fahr starts racking up blocks again (4 total by the end, at least double anyone else’s), and the Panthers secure the first break (9-12). Zhu hits double digits early (9-13, 11 points), Haak breaks through from position 2 (devastating in the second set with 5 points and a 56% attack rate), and Wolosz scores a Spider-Man-style point purely on instinct, with her back to the net. Another block from Gabi energizes the Panthers, who dominate with a 62% positive reception rate (12-20), and Fahr seals the 0-2 with a quick attack for 17-25.
Resovia gains confidence in the third set, starting at 9-2, then Gabi puts down a point to try to spark Antonio Carraro Imoco as the deficit exceeds double digits (14-3). From here, the Panthers stage a legendary comeback with a 13-26 run. Haak hammers diagonals, and Chirichella lands an ace to cut it to -5 (21-16), Gabi cleans the line for -4 right after, the Brazilian committing just 2 attack errors. Adigwe keeps the set alive (22-18), Fahr brings dreams of a -2, Haak stings for 23-23 (a 20-9 run to restore balance): it goes to extras, the Panthers save 3 set points and flip the script, closing at 27-29. It’s a historic climb that allows Antonio Carraro to wrap up the match after the third set, with an electrifying Gabi (15 points and match MVP) and a stoic De Gennaro even in the most thrilling moments of the contest.
But the hot matches don’t end here. The Panthers will return to the court on Sunday at 4 PM at Palaverde for Game 1 of the league playoff quarterfinals against Bergamo, but in 7 days, it’s the CEV Champions League return leg: again at Palaverde, Antonio Carraro Imoco will host Resovia at 8:30 PM.
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(Photos by CEV)