CEV Champions League. Group stage. 1st round

Monza Italy. December 7

"Vero Volley" — SC "Prometey" 3-0 (25:17, 25:20, 25:21)

In the first round of the group stage of the Champions League 2022/23, SC "Prometey" met without exaggeration the giant of Italian volleyball "Vero Volley". In addition, the game took place in the homecourt of rivals, which is the Arena di Monza.

The starting minutes of the match was for the "red and white" - 2:4. However, the Italians did not stay in the role of catchers for long: on the serve of the setter Alesia Orro, they made a spurt - 11:6. Our volleyball players never managed to organize a good attack in those minutes to "take off". In the end, they were helped by their rivals, who hit the net.

Ivan Petkov's time-out encouraged his players to make a comeback - 13:12. For their part, housewives began to act more carefully on the block. In addition, they had a pitch. For example, Miriam Silla earned two consecutive aces — 18:13. The Ukrainian team failed to overcome such a handicap - 25:17.

The beginning of the second set was even - 5:5. Then Silla again reminded of itself by successfully introducing the ball into the game - 7:5. "Prometey" equally tried not to let its opponents go far. His players fought for every point - 14:12.

In general, the teams demonstrated the same pace of play, and only individual mistakes prevented our club from getting hold of the set - 19:14. The effective actions of Daria Velykokon and Oleksandra Milenko at the end of this section slightly spoiled the mood of the Italians and gave us optimism before the third set - 25:20.

There, the "red and whites" continued to impose a struggle on the Marko Gaspari team - 10:7. But, of course, it was very difficult to resist the formidable weapon of "Vero Volley" in the person of, in particular, Jovana Stevanovych. At a certain moment, the Italians were leading with an advantage of eight points — 20:12. However, they believed in their own victory early, which gave the Ukrainians hope for a comeback - 22:20. Unfortunately, the hosts still had the last word — 25:21.

Despite the defeat, Petkov's team finished the game with their heads held high. Our athletes will play their next match in the Champions League on December 20 in Kutnia Hora against the French "Le Canne".

Starting line-up of SC "Prometey": Daria Velykokon, Oleksandra Milenko, Viktoriia Danchak, Svitlana Dorsman (c), Anastasiia Maievska, Viki Savar, Kristina Niemtseva (l).