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Zurich, Switzerland, May 10, 2015 – From the shores of the
Bosphorus to the banks of the Limmat (or, to be more precise,
the Sihl) Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul have come a long way. If not
in distance, from the fringes of Europe to the heart of
Switzerland, than surely in achievement.
The Turkish team had a perfect ending to a dream season. After
clinching the CEV Denizbank Championships in Poland tobe crowned
European Champions last month and despite faltering at the
national league playoffs, they pulled off a brilliant feat in
Zurich to claim the most coveted trophy of them all – that of
the 2015 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship.
And they did this in the most convincing manner, defeating
Dinamo Krasnodar 3-1 (25-16,
25-21, 24-26,25-19) in the final, to become the third
Turkish team to claim the club world title.
Eczacibasi followed in the footsteps of their cross-town rivals
Fenerbahce (2010 in Doha) and Vakifbank (2013 in Zurich) as they
blocked their way to victory. Dinamo simply couldn't find around
and certainly not over the Turkish block, which contributed as
many as 15 points to Eczacibasi's tally.
It could even have been easier, had Eczacibasi capitalised on
two match points at 24-22 in the third set. With Tatiana
Kosheleva effectively neutralised, Cuban-born Rosir Kalderon
came on and temporarily gave some solutions to Dinamo's offence.
It was not to be, though. Kalderon couldn't last and Ecazacibasi
ragained control to bring the game home in four.
USA's Jordan Larson-Burbach emerged top scorer of the final,
with a total of 30 points (3 aces, 15/36 kills and 2 stuffs) to
add the title of World Club Champion and MVP of the tournament
to that of national team World Champion from last year in Milan.
It was also a happy occasion for the hosts, Volero Zurich, who
did away with Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro 3-0 (25-21, 25-17,
25-18) in the bronze
medal match to finally make it onto the podium after two failed
attempts.
Volero seemed not to rely so much on top scorer Olesia Rykhliuk
(17 points), as setter Courtney Thompson spread the play around
a bit this time to include more of Dobriana Rabadzhieva, Rachel
Sanchez, Natalia Mammadova and even Nadja Ninkovic.
Nevertheless, Volero's opposite Rykhliuk has written her own
little bit of volleyball history. Midway through the second set,
with a block-out from the outside, she tied the all-time scoring
record of 85 points held by Dinamo Kazan's Ekaterina Gamova from
2014. And a little later on she smashed the record with her 86th
point in the tournament, an ace on end line. The 28-year-old
Ukrainian went on to finish the tournament with a total of 93
points.
For Rexona-AdeS, the motivation seemed to not be there. The Rio
team, clearly disappointed from their semifinal loss to Dinamo
Krasnodar, made a half-hearted attempt to get in the game in the
third set, but it still felt as if they weren't totally there.
This was the last appearance of Rexona-AdeS setter and captain
Fofao, who retires at 45, after an amazing career that spans
three decades and five Olympics (including gold in 2008 in
Beijing). It has been an honour and a privilige to be present at
this exceptional athlete’s last tournament. |
