Eczacibasi VitrA crushed the dreams of hosts Volero with a nail-biting 3-1 semifinal victory.
Zurich, Switzerland, May 9, 2015 – For only the second time in history and the first since 2011, the final of the 2015 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship will be an all-European affair. Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul and Dinamo Krasnodar will clash in Zurich’s Saalsporthalle at 15:00 local time (13:00 GMT) for gold, after a couple of exceptional semifinal performances that promise an exciting final.
Nonetheless, Volero can still better their best ever previous ranking, if they beat Rexona-AdeS at 12:30 local time (10:30 GMT) for their first ever Club Worlds medal.
The only previous all-European final was at Doha in 2011, when Rabita Baku of Azerbaijan defeated Vakifbank TTelekom Istanbul in straight sets.
Eczacibasi VitrA crushed the dreams of hosts Volero with a nail-biting
3-1 (25-17, 25-22, 18-25, 34-32) semifinal much to the delight of their noisy and colourful travelling fans (and it certainly felt more like Istanbul's Burhan Felek than Zurich's Saalsporthalle today).
Eczacibasi held off the hosts as they attempted to come back for a tie-break with some inspired digging in the back row, as Volero struggled to find a way around the block of Maja Poljak and also failed to stop the creative attacking of Gozde Yilmaz and Jordan Larson-Burbach.
Meanwhile, unstoppable Tatiana Kosheleva scored an incredible 30 points to lead Dinamo to victory
3-1 (25-21, 25-27, 25-23, 25-21) over Rexona-AdeS.
Dinamo simply wore down the Brazilian side with superior digging to counter Rexona-AdeS' more efficient serving and slightly better receiving. It didn't help either that Rexona-AdeS gave away a full set's worth of points from unforced errors...
As Dinamo seem to be peaking at the right moment in the tournament, following a slow start in pool play, Kosheleva's 52% in attack (30/58) proved the driving force behind this historic win. Some inspired digging and receiving by Dinamo's liberos and lots more options for distrubuting play by setter Fabiola and you have a winning combination.
Finals schedule:12:30 (10:30 GMT): Volero Zurich v Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro (bronze)
15:00 (13:00 GMT): Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul v Dinamo Krasnodar (final)
Top Scoring Performances30 - Tatiana Kosheleva (Dinamo Krasnodar - RUS) v Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro (May 9)
28 - Olesia Rykhliuk (Volero Zurich - SUI) v Rexona-AdeS - BRA (May 7)
28 - Olesia Rykhliuk (Volero Zurich - SUI) v Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul - TUR (May 9)
24 - Yuki Ishii (Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN) v Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul - TUR (May 6)
24 - Natalia (Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro - BRA) v Dinamo Krasnodar - RUS (May 9)
21 - Tatiana Kosheleva (Dinamo Krasnodar - RUS) v Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN (May 8)
20 - Olesia Rykhliuk (Volero Zurich - SUI) v Mirador Santo Domingo - DOM (May 6)
20 - Fe Garay (Dinamo Krasnodar - RUS) v Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN (May 8)
20 - Brankica Mihajlovic (Hismaitsu Springs Kobe - JPN) v Dinamo Krasnodar (May 8)
Top Blocking Performances7 - Carol (Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro - BRA) v Dinamo Krasnodar - RUS (May 9)
6 - Yuliya Podkslanaya (Dinamo Krasnodar - RUS) v Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN (May 8)
6 - Maja Poljak (Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul - TUR) v Volero Zurich - SUI (May 9)
5 - Christiane Fuerst (Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul - TUR) v Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN (May 6)
5 - Carol (Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro - BRA) v Volero Zurich - SUI (May 7)
5 - Olesia Rykhliuk (Volero Zurich - SUI) v Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro - BRA (May 7)
Top Blocking Performances by Team15 - Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul - TUR v Volero Zurich - SUI (May 9)
14 - Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul - TUR v Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN (May 6)
14 - Volero Zurich - SUI v Mirador Santo Domingo - DOM (May 6)
13 - Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro - BRA v Volero Zurich - SUI (May 7)
13 - Dinamo Krasnodar - RUS v Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN (May 8)
Top Serving Performances4 - Jordan Larson-Burbach (Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul) - TUR v Dinamo Krasnodar - RUS (May 7)
4 - Carol (Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro - BRA) v Mirador Santo Domingo - DOM (May 8)
3 - Ayano Nakaoji (Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN) v Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul - TUR (May 6)
3 - Maja Poljak (Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul - TUR) v Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN (May 6)
3 - Rachel Sanchez (Volero Zurich - SUI) v Mirador Santo Domingo - DOM (May 6)
3 - Fe Garay (Dinamo Krasnodar - RUS) v Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN (May 8)
3 - Natalia Mammadova (Volero Zurich - SUI) v Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul (May 9)
Top Serving Performances by Team10 - Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro - BRA v Mirador Santo Domingo (May 8)
7 - Volero Zurich - SUI v Mirador Santo Domingo - DOM (May 6)
7 - Volero Zurich - SUI v Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul - TUR (May 9)
6 - Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN v Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul - TUR (May 6)
6 – Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro - BRA v Dinamo Krasnodar - RUS (May 9)
Highest Scorers by day24 - Yuki Ishii (Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN) v Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul - TUR (Day 1, May 6)
28 - Olesia Rykhliuk (Volero Zurich - SUI) v Rexona-AdeS - BRA (Day 2, May 7)
21 - Tatiana Kosheleva (Dinamo Krasnodar - RUS) v Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN (Day 3, May 8)
30 - Tatiana Kosheleva (Dinamo Krasnodar - RUS) v Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro - BRA (Day 4, May 9)
Highest Set Score35-33 - Volero Zurich - SUI v Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro - BRA (3rd set, May 7)
34-32 - Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul - TUR v Volero Zurich - SUI (4th set, May 9)
30-28 - Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro - BRA v Volero Zurich - SUI (1st set, May 7)
28-26 - Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN v Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul - TUR (2nd set, May 6)
26-24 - Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul - TUR v Dinamo Krasnodar - RUS (2nd set, May 7)
Highest Scoring Matches220 - Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro - BRA v Volero Zurich - SUI 3-1 (30-28, 25-22, 33-35, 25-22)
206 - Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN v Eczacibas VitrA Istanbul - TUR 3-2 (12-25, 28-26, 25-20, 19-25, 15-11)
198 - Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul - TUR v Volero Zurich - SUI 3-1 (25-17, 25-22, 18-25, 34-32)
192 - Dinamo Krasnodar - RUS v Rexona-AdeS Rio de Janeiro - BRA 3-1 (25-21, 25-27, 25-23, 25-21)
174 - Dinamo Krasnodar - RUS v Hisamitsu Springs Kobe - JPN 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-14, 25-18)
Further Resources:
Match Schedule and Results
Pool Standings
Live Text Commentary
Video Highlights
Official Brochure Programme
Organiser’s Newsletter, Issue No. 1 (in German)
Organiser’s Newsletter, Issue No. 2 (in German)
Organiser’s Newsletter, Issue No. 3 (in German)
Organiser’s Newsletter, Issue No. 4 (in German)