The Italian side Sir Colussi Sicoma Perugia survived a scare against Lokomotiv Novosibirsk from Russia as they lost the opening set in the 1st leg of the 2018 Champions League Playoffs 6 but confidently prevailed in the next three.
Lokomotiv claimed the 1st set with a 4-0 run at 22-24 but were swept in the 2nd and 3rd set by a 25-15 and 25-19, respectively. At 12-12 in the 4th set, Perugia made a 5-1 run to break the resistance of the rivals in the match – 25-21.
The Serbian Aleksandar Atanasijević scored 21 points for the winning side while his compatriot Marko Podraščanin added 4 kill blocks. Artem Smolyar and Sergey Savin delivered 11 points apiece for Lokomotiv. Smolyar also made 4 kill blocks. Iliyas Kurkaev recorded 70% attack (7/10, blocked once).
In a duel between Italian powerhouses, Cucine Lube Civitanova outplayed Diatec Trentino in four sets, partially 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 28-26, although it seemed the tie-break was inevitable as Trentino had 19-16 in the fourth period. Trentino also had a set ball (25-24) in the 4th set, but Lube managed to convert their second match ball.
Osmany Juantorena topped Lube with 19 points, making 78% reception (18 digs, 1 error, 44% excellent). The Serbian Dragan Stanković made 79% attack (11/14, 1 error). In Trentino, Filippo Lanza noted 18 points. Simone Giannelli set up 5 kill blocks, which is impressive for a setter.
To see complete results, stats, and standings, visit our CEV Volleyball Champions League 2017/2018 / Male / Seniors page.
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