Iraklis lead the way in the Greek league
The blue-and-white team from Thessaloniki extended their winning streak in the competition to 11 victories and they are now the sole leaders in the standings with 27 points. Olympiacos, the defending champions, trail by three points.
Rolando Despaigne of Cuba, last year’s MVP of the Greek League as a player of Olympiacos, was the leading scorer for Iraklis by 23 points, but his teammate Nikos Smaragdis was voted MVP of the match.
In addition to the defeat, the host team suffered a major upset after Dima Filipov twisted his ankle during the first set and is expected to be out for at least a month.
Pamvohaikos Vrahati Corinthia, bounced back after two consecutive losses, defeating Aris Thessaloniki 3-1 and returning to third in the standings.
Ethnikos Alexandroupolis retained a clean sheet after their win over EA Patron in straight sets, while PAOK Thessaloniki edged Panathinaikos in straight sets and left the Athens team at the bottom of the table.
Results
Olympiacos – Iraklis 1-3 (21-25, 25-19, 21-25, 26-28)
Olympiacos (Kalmazidis): Himenez 6, Petreas 2, Filipov, Novotny 26, Andreadis 7, Kokkinakis 7/ Kouzounis (L), Sotiriou, Livathinos, Kanellos 5, Ioannou 1
Iraklis (Drikos): Hristofidelis 11, Despagne 23, Pelekoudas 8, Bozidis, Smaragdis 12, Kravarik 10/ Stefanou (L), Dimitriadis, Tanik, Tzioumakas 2
Ethnikos Alexandroupolis – EA Patron 3-0 (25-14, 27-25, 25-16)
Ethnikos (Andreadis): Kovac 6, Sidiriopoulos 3, Papazoglou 10, Gonzalez 16, Dalakouras A. 8, Koumentakis 12/ Mitrev (L), Kiriakidis, Kontostathis
EA Patron (Hristopoulos): Mantekas 6, Vujovic 5, Papadopoulos G. 4, Aspiotis 15, Papadopolous P. 1/ Ahilleopoulos (L), Patakiaras (L), Patrinos, Makrigiannis, Milev 5
Pamvohaikos – Aris 3-1 (25-20, 25-18, 21-25, 25-16)
Pamvohaikos (Zalmas): Bekiaris 10, Potocnik 16, Stivahtis 3, Dusharm 17, Katsanevakis 11, Karagiannis 10/ Dimitrakopoulos (L), Koulas, Liontas, Mihailoglou, Bakas, Vardis
Aris (Giatsis): Kiprianos 2, Barutov 12, Kodogiannis 1, Kiosis 5, Kiriakidis 15, Rizopoulos 13/ Babalioutas (L) / Palentzas
PAOK – Panathinaikos 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-21)
PAOK (Melkas): Girtzikis 12, Papaiakovou 6, Plikas 3, Romero 7, Borovnjak 15, Armenakis 13/ Papadimitriou (L), Karasarlidis
Panathinaikos (Kazazis): Zoupani 6, Psarras 4, Kolev 6, Josefacki 12, Stojkovic 5, Pantaleon 6/ Daridis (L), Aggelopoulos, Donas, Kotsilianos, Protopsaltis 1.
VOLLEY LEAGUE OPAP 2011-2012 TABLE
1. Iraklis 27
2. Olympiacos 24
3. Pamvohaikos 19
4. Finikas Sirou 18
5. Ethnikos Alex. 14
6. AO Kifisias 11
7. EA Patron 11
8. Lamia 11
9. PAOK 10
10.Aris 10
11.Panathinaikos 7
*Apollon Kalamarias withdrew from the Volleyleague OPAP 2011-2012
**Lamia and Finikas Siros both have 9 matches.
FIXTURES
Round 12
Friday 13 January
19:00 (Live on Novasports 3 & www.laola1.tv), PAOK–EA Patron
Saturday 14 January
19:00 Iraklis–Aris
19:00 (Live on Novasports 4 & www.laola1.tv), Pamvohaikos-Lamia
19:00 Ethnikos Alexandroupolis–AO Kifisias
19:00 Finikas Sirou-Panathinaikos
