The Maritsa (Plovdiv) team suffered a second consecutive defeat in the group stage of the Women's Volleyball Champions League. The "yellow-blues" lost 0:3 (23:25, 17:25, 17:25) in sets in their home match against the current trophy holder in the tournament – Antonio Carraro Imoco (Conegliano).
Thus, head coach Ahmetcan Erşimşek's volleyball players remain without a point in their Group "A" of the competition, while the Italian team is the leader in the standings with a full six points and no lost sets.
The Bulgarian champion started the match very focused in "Kolodruma" hall and was completely equal to the Italian grand in the first set, even having a chance to win it. The set went point for point until 14:13 in favor of the guests, when a series of strong serves by Lora Slavcheva helped Maritsa take a 19:14 lead. It reached 22:18 for the "yellow-blues", but in the decisive moments, the Conegliano team showed its superior class and with the help of its solid block, made a comeback to snatch the set 25:23.
At the beginning of the second set, Maritsa once again managed to put up a fight, staying close in the score until 9:8. After that, however, the visitors began to build a lead, which reached 7 points at 16:9. Head coach Daniele Santarelli's pupils did not let go of the initiative until the end, taking the second set 25:17.
In the third set, the Italian grand once again showed its superior class and asserted its will with a 25:17 victory.
The top scorer for the winners was Ting Zhu with 13 points, while Martina Lukášik added 11. The MVP of the match was setter Nanami Seki.
For the Bulgarian champion, Iva Dudova scored 11 points, and Dobrina Hristoskova contributed 10.
In their next match, Maritsa will visit Croatian Mladost (Zagreb), while Conegliano will play against Polish Developres (Rzeszów).
photos: Nikolay Varadinov
