Panionios Betsson recorded another decisive victory in the Greek championship, prevailing as a guest over Markopoulo Revoil with a 3-0 set score in a match that opened the program of the 7th round. This is the third consecutive success for Dragan Nesic's team in Greece and Europe and comes at an ideal moment before the trip to Romania for the decisive return match against Brasov in the Challenge Cup on December 2.
Solid start and dominant play
Markopoulo was again without the injured Willow Johnson and Vitaliya Marman, although the return of coach Georgios Roussis gave the hosts some calm. However, this did not affect Panionios' rhythm, which imposed control in the very first set through strong serving and a stable block. Rakhimova set the tone, and the difference quickly reached double digits, leading to a convincing 14-25.
In the second set, the hosts showed more character and took an 8-5 lead, but only to provoke an even stronger reaction. Panionios shifted into higher gear, and a series of four consecutive aces from Rakhimova definitively broke their resistance – 19-25.
The third set was the most one-sided. After evenly matched initial rallies, the "blue and reds" once again found their rhythm in reception and attack, and from 6-9 the difference grew to 6-13, shaping the final 14-25.
Elitsa Atanasijević's performance
Among the many positives for Panionios, Elitsa Atanasijević's performance stood out, as she played one of her strongest matches since the start of the season. The Bulgarian was extremely stable in reception – a full 80%, of which 60% were perfect, which gave the setter ideal conditions for a varied attack.
Atanasijević finished with 13 points, scoring 11 out of 18 attacks in offense, demonstrating confidence, good height, and excellent work over the block. She also added 2 blocks, making her the team's most valuable player after Rakhimova.
Looking ahead
The return match in Romania is approaching, where the Greek team will try to take the next step towards the top 16 of the Challenge Cup – with a performance like today's, this seems like a completely realistic goal.
