Champions League 2023/24 (Women)
Group E. 2nd round. November 15
Mioveni Romania
SC "Prometey" — "LKS Lodz" 0-3 (20:25, 17:25, 23:25)
Ivan Petkov's wards played their second match at the group stage of the Champions League 2024 against the current champions of Poland - the players of "LKS Lodz". Both teams lost points at the start of the competition, so they had nowhere to retreat.
Teams immediately exchanged productive actions. Then the initiative briefly passed to the side of the rivals, who at that moment successfully acted on the block (2:5). However, our girls were not lost, and soon the shots of Svetlana Dorsman and Melissa Bukman leveled the parity (6:6).
The volleyball players of "Prometey" noticeably lacked power in the attack. The attackers of "LKS", in particular Valentina Diouf (8:11), took full advantage of this. "Red and Whites" needed to save the set, so Ivan Petkov took a time-out. It worked because his wards approached the Poles closely (18:19).
Already in the next rally, after the desperate actions of the Ukrainians in defense and the excellent finish of Marta Drpa, the score became even. As it always happens, the fate of the set was decided by micro-episodes. For example, Julita Piasetska took advantage of the simultaneous stay on the court of Krystyna Nemtseva and Kateryna Vasylieva and served in the "conflict zone". These and other moments led to the triumph of Alessandro Chiappini's team - 20:25.
The game was quite difficult for "Prometey" in the second part of the meeting. The Poles confidently combined and fought for every point in an incredible way. One such protracted rally gave the audience a lot of pleasant emotions, but, unfortunately, it ended precisely in favor of the opponents (4:11). During the entire set, Ukrainians were in the role of those who catch up. The coaching staff tried to turn the tide of the set with substitutions. However, the appearance of Viktoriia Danchak and Yevheniia Hober did not change the situation - 17:25.
At the start of the third set, Kamila Witkowska knocked out the "red and whites" from reception, giving the Polish club the opportunity to finish the rally (2:6). Then the representatives of the latter lost their concentration for a moment. For their part, the players of "Prometey" added on the block - they managed to restore parity twice in a row with this element (11:11).
Finally, our athletes felt the rhythm of the game, which was confirmed by Yevheniia Hober's effective attack. Thanks to the outside hitter, they led for the first time with an advantage of two points - 15:13. The final minutes turned out to be very nervous, because the teams had absolutely equal chances to win (23:23). In the end, LKS Lodz still had the last words here — 23:25.
Starting line-up of SC "Prometey": Kharchenko (1), Dorsman (k) (11), Bukman (5), Milenkovic (9), Drpa (5), Sharhorodska (3), Niemtseva (l), Vasylieva (l). Substitutes: Meliushkina (6), Danchak (1), Khober (9).
