Olympiacos is also the winner in Rentis’ “thriller”! In a sensational first final at “Melina Merkouri”, the Greek Cup winners withstood the pressure of the champion Panathinaikos, who tied the match twice and narrowly managed to win 3-2 sets, taking the first step towards their return to the peak!
Fantastic match in the closed of Rentis with his team Mitchell to prevail in the details against the “greens” and go to the Mets to… double the wins and take a resounding title lead!
The match:
Excellent start in the first set with Panathinaikos putting Olympiakos up against the net. The “red and white” however took advantage of the guests’ mistakes and with a personal 4-0 brought the match to 8-4 checking the situation. Nesic’s team tried to make a reaction and gnawed the difference to two, and then equalized at 12-12.
The match took on derby proportions with the Atkinson and Carcasses to attack the “red and white” block and put Panathinaikos in front of the score (16-17). But Olympiacos, with protagonists Mleinkova and Koumboura, stepped on the gas and at the most appropriate moment “turned off” all counter balls, reaching the 23-20 and then to 25-20 for 1-0!
Panathinaikos’s… reaction in the second set with Nesic’s players returning from -2 (6-4) and take the lead for the third time in the match (8-9). Olympiacos with Nizetich to turn up the pace and find crucial points brought the match back to level, but the “greens” having, at that point, Samandan in excellent condition, managed to take a three-point lead for the first time (14-17) forcing Miceli to time out.
The “clover” kept the lead throughout the set with the difference reduced to a point, but an excellent pass by Karkases, but also the mistakes of Lambrousi and Mleinkovathey gave Panathinaikos the right to do it 22-25 and tie the sets at 1-1.
Stormy Olympiacos and… unprepared Panathinaikos in third set with the “red and white” making a show of strength in the taraflex. The Cup holders left no ‘green’ mistake unforgivable and took a deafening eight-point lead (15-7) essentially clearing the lead early on. The blackout of the Panathinaikos players gave Olympiakos the right to take a healthy walk and take the set with the imposing 25-9 for 2-1.
Determined not to give up, the Panathinaikos players entered the fourth set exceptionally, making a 1-4. The guests kept a short lead in the derby for a while with the difference of three points reduced to one thanks to the block out that Koumboura got from Samadan (5-6) after a long rally which offered counter balls to Panathinaikos. This particular phase also marked Olympiakos’ counterattack, since Koumboura’s ace and Karkases’ deep hit put the home team in front of the score for the first time in the fourth set (7-6) with Nesic calling a timeout.
Nizetich put her quality forward by helping Olympiakos leave at +3 (11-8). But consecutive points from Samandan and Karkases were enough to put Panathinaikos back in front with a 4-0 (11-12) lead after which Miceli called a timeout. The difference for the “clover” went to the teams (11-13) after Samandan’s bad shot with Olympiacos finding an answer reducing it to 12-13 and the “greens” reaching +4 again thanks to actions by Karkases and an error attack by the hosts (12-16).
The +4 became… permanence for Panathinaikos in the 4th set, with Olympiakos finding scoring and reducing to two thanks to the excellent Mleinkova (17-19). Xatziefstratiadou entered the equation by “raising” even more the reception of Panathinaikos with the score again coming to +4 for the “greens” (17-21). The formidable Fariol together with Koumboura gave the signal for Olympiakos’ counterattack, reducing the score again to two (20-22) and created derby conditions at the most crucial point of the match. But Atkinson’s great placement and Nizetich’s bad shot were enough to give Panathinaikos the set ball and then the 2-2 with 21-25 which also meant a tie break.
The two teams went hand in hand in the first points of the tie break with Panathinaikos taking a double lead and Olympiakos turning it over for 5-2 thanks to a bad reaction in the heart of the “green” defense, Fariol’s first year and a won block Nizetich out, with Nesic calling a hasty timeout. The “red and white” continued to defend their lead which expanded to four, but temporarily, until Karkases found a crucial point and the home team made more contact for 7-5. A block out by Panathinaikos and an ace by Koumboura were able to bring Olympiakos back to +4 (9-5). Panathinaikos, however, proved to be too tough to die and with a personal 3-0, it was reduced to a point (9-8). Miceli’s team went back to three with the visitors showing resistance, reducing to a point (12-11). The derby reached a razor’s edge with Panathinaikos not giving up and projecting lasting resistance to Olympiakos, resulting in a draw (13-13). Nizetich with a critical point gave Panathinaikos a set ball-match ball, but then missed a critical attack prolonging the tension (14-14). The match continued to be a derby with one team giving victory to the other, but Koumboura with a nail and an ace ended the match (18-16) for Olympiakos 3-2.
The sets: 25-20, 22-25, 25-9, 21-25, 18-16
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