Volleyball News: Austrian men held off Greeks for straights sets’ victory
The fury of 2011 CEV Men’s Champions League resumed yesterday (Tuesday, 4th January, 2011) after the well-deserved Christmas Break. In men’s division, only one match was played, which featured teams from Austria and Greece. The wonderful Austrian
squad named as Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK clashed with Greek opponents bearing the name Panathinaikos ATHENS. National Athletic Center Makis Liougas Glyfada, Athens hosted the match, which ended in the favour of guest team from Austria. The victorious team was defined
after 86 minutes’ play. Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK demonstrated a stellar performance and posted 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, and 32-30) victory over home team.
The home advantage did not work for Greek team, while visitors sparked on the scene and confirmed their ambition to get to the Playoffs 12. Nonetheless, the match was close fight and kept the fans entertained for whole time.
Pre-match Scenario
One day before the start of match, the head coach of Panathinaikos, Stelios Kazazis disclosed his thoughts about the match. He said: “Our goal is beyond a good appearance, we want to get three points. In comparison with the first match in Austria, we will
have also the help of Ilias Lappas and that gives us more strength. We will face a very tough group, with a lot of power in attack and we must be aggressive from the serving line”.
Likewise, the coach of Hypo Tirol, Stefan Chrtiansky, commented: “We always fight for a positive result whether this result gives us two or three points. I think that Panathinaikos will play better than in the first match. We need to be careful with Ilias
Lappas and generally with their attackers”.
Match Overview
The game turned into a heated competition after early few shots. The home players supplied plenty of power to ball and produced wonderful serves. LAPPAS Ilias of of Panathinaikos attacked aggressively and created trouble for the opponents. On the other side
of the court, the Austrian defenders poised their feet and resisted to rivals’ strike. They grasped the game plan and responded with heavy underhand shots. They contributed quick points and managed to take one point lead at the first technical timeout (FTT).
Afterwards, Greek side threw everything in attack and tried different attack strategies. Their score improved but Austria’s team remained one step ahead of them. The visitors consistently kept moving with better score and finally hit the finish line. Greek
team trained behind with 2-point margin and lost first set at 23-25.
The charged-up Austrian team took full advantage of their better status in first set. They continued with explosive spikes and earned a strong lead in the first few minutes. COSTA DA SILVA Paulo Victor, the Austrian player wearing No. 9 shirt was the centre
of attention during the second set. He hit from different angles and directed the ball in right spots. Austria’s score rose up with speed, while Panathinaikos side suffered the set back. They struggled to come out of blues but Hypo Tirol Team refused to acknowledge
their efforts. Austrian attackers showed no mercy and registered points after points.
In the latter half of the second set, Greek Team got benefitted from opponents’ mistakes and narrowed the gap of points. They almost attained a stronger spot in the game. However, Austrian team displayed an incredible show and bagged secured the second set
with a score of 27-25.
After dropping the first two sets, home team put up more effort to somehow cover the deficit. Third set of the match was grueling battle between two sides. The exchange was deadly spikes added a new thrill in the game. In the end, the home team had to accept
defeat as Austrian team proved to be better side. The third set game continued for solid 33 minutes and finally Hypo Tirol clinched success. They sent 32-30 on the scoreboard and marched as winners.