Bank BPS Fakro MUSZYNA scored a pretty surprising home win on Wednesday in the first final match of the 2013 CEV Volleyball Cup against Turkey’s heavyweight Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL. The game lasted for more than two hours and eventually finished at the tie-break after a terrific fight (26-24, 26-24, 19-25, 23-25, and 15-11). The return match that will eventually determine the winner of Europe’s second highest club competition is scheduled for this coming Saturday, March 2, at Burhan Felek Volleyball Hall in Istanbul.
Fenerbahce set the pace of the game in the early phases of the opening set (6:8) but MUSZYNA responded well drawing level before moving to the front (11:9) and claiming a very slim margin at the second technical time-out (16:15). Fenerbahce head coach Kamil Soz stopped the game twice as the home side had moved up 18:16 and 20:16 and as his players could finally cut the deficit to a minimum (22:21), home mentor Bogdan Serwinski asked for a time-out. After the score was drawn twice at 23 and 24, the local favorites claimed the next couple of rallies to wrap it up at 26-24.
The score remained very tight also in the opening of set 2 with Agnieszka Bednarek-Kasza and Anna Werblinska pacing the offensive play of Bank BPS Fakro. After MUSZYNA had gone up 7:6, Fenerbahce fought back by scoring the next four rallies (7:10) but the home heroines responded quite quickly to draw level at 11. Fenerbahce moved to the front once more (14:17) but could not capitalize on four set balls (20:24), with MUSZYNA storming back to finish it off at 26-24 for the provisional 2:0.
Fenerbahce regrouped in set 3 going up 1:5 and 2:8 but after the first technical time-out, Bank BPS Fakro could get back on track (11:13) and was trailing only by two points (14:16) halfway through the set. Though the home ladies showed some great actions, Fenerbahce was still leading the way (16:20) and could eventually call for the fourth set (19-25).
The home fans were literally ecstatic as MUSZYNA swept 7 points in a row in the opening of set 4 and they eventually cruised to a massive 11:3 to somehow pre-determine the fate of the game. Still only a few minutes later their lead had dropped to only two points (12:10) and Fenerbahce followed with a 10-2 series that practically paved the way for the final 23-25 that called for the tie-break.
That major setback did nevertheless not shake the home heroines who caught a good start in the deciding set (5:2) and did not lose composure to firmly control the operations (11:8). MUSZYNA did eventually finish it off at 15-11 to claim a much desired win waiting now for the second act that is coming up on Saturday in Turkey’s megalopolis.