In Istanbul, a historic match was played in the Women's Volleyball Champions League – match #2000 in the history of the tournament. The symbolism was enhanced by the fact that Fenerbahçe Medicana, led by national coach Marcello Abbondanza, was also on the court. The Turkish giant maintained its perfect record in the competition but faced a serious challenge against Italian Novara.
Fenerbahçe prevailed with difficulty 3:2 (20:25, 25:22, 25:12, 20:25, 15:12), with Arina Fedorovtseva's series of devastating serves in the fifth set proving decisive. It was the Russian player who tipped the scales in the tie-break and secured the team's fourth consecutive victory in the Champions League.
The match was watched from the stands by Serbian coach Slobodan Kovač, who just a day earlier terminated his contract with Fenerbahçe. Among the spectators were also volleyball players Zehra Güneş, Marina Markova, Elena Cazaut, and Magdalena Stysiak, and the atmosphere in the hall was more than special.
On the court, Serbian international Bojana Milenković played an important role. She appeared in the first set and remained in play until the end of the match. Milenković finished with 7 points, but her contribution was even more significant in reception and with saved balls in defense (attack 12-4, one ace, two blocks), stabilizing Fenerbahçe's game in the most difficult moments.
However, the big star of the evening was Arina Fedorovtseva. In front of 2200 spectators, she scored 24 points (attack 43-20, four aces), and it was her serves that decided the fate of the match. Melissa Vargas added 22 points, and captain Eda Erdem contributed 14. For Novara, Tatyana Tolok was the top scorer with an impressive 29 points.
After four rounds, Fenerbahçe has a perfect record of 4 wins and 0 losses, while Novara occupies an intermediate position with a 2-2 balance. The historic match #2000 delivered everything – drama, stars, and volleyball at the highest level, and Istanbul once again proved to be one of the great stages of European volleyball.
