Olympiacos fought but did not complete the great upset and was eliminated from Galatasaray

He fought for the big upset, but in the end Olympiacos fell with his head held high.

Having from the beginning a very difficult task in Istanbul against Galatasaraifollowing their 3-0 home loss in the first set quarter final of CEV Challenge Cupthe “red and whites” fought it out and took a 2-1 lead, but eventually lost the crucial fourth set and were ultimately defeated by 3-2 (25-13, 20-25, 22-25, 25-9, 15-8)staying out of the continuity of the organization.

The protagonist for Olympiakos was Militsa Koumbourawho finished the game with 28 points, while the Abderrahim he had 10.

The home team entered the game very strongly, imposing their pace and taking an early lead of 5 points (6-1), while Olympiacos had a hard time coping. Galata led by as much as +10 (17-7 and 19-9), finally reaching comfortably 1-0, after 25-13.

The “red and white” dramatically improved their performance in the second set and found a rhythm, taking a 6-3 lead, while with Koumboura as the protagonist, they escaped to an 11-5 advantage. In fact, Olympiacos remained stable at this +5, until Galata reduced it to 13-15 and tied it at 17-17 and 19-19, but then the visitors made a 6-1 run, reaching the 25-20 and tying the set at 1-1.

Having the momentum, Olympiacos was also very competitive in the third set, in which the two teams went hand in hand, until 16-16. There, the “red and whites” got psychological through big phases that they pulled off, and after leading with 21-18 and 23-19, they reached the 25-22 for the 2-1 in their favor!

However, Lorenzo Micelli’s side appeared to run out of steam in the fourth set, where they stayed close until 6-5, but then saw Galatasaray dominate, taking a 9-6 lead and then going on an impressive 11-run run unanswered points for 20-6, before comfortably reaching the 25-9putting an end to Olympiakos’ dreams of achieving the epic upset.

All things considered, the fifth set became a procedural affair, with the Reds leading 5-2 and Galata coming back to tie it at 7-7, before rallying to 15-8 to eventually take the win with the final 3-2 in sets.

The sets: 25-13, 20-25, 22-25, 25-9, 15-8

Galatasaray (Alberto Bigarelli): Aydin 9 (9/26 ff., 50% sub. – 31% excellent), Bongaerts 4 (3 aces, 1 block), Guevelli 14 (8/12 ff., 2 aces, 4 blocks), Timmerman 10 (7/ 17 ff., 1 ace, 2 blocks), Karatasou 19 (17/45 ff., 2 block), Lazovic 8 (8/24 ref., 50% sub. – 12% excellent) / Atgin (l., 58% sub. – 25% excellent), Doumanoglu (l.), Hatsimustafaoglou 3 (1/2 ref., 1 ace, 1 block), Arisan 1 (1 block), Kilic, Ozel 3 (2/3 f., 1 block), Kalandaze 2 (2/6 ff.).

Olympiacos (Lorenzo Micelli): Nizetich 1 (1/9 ref., 56% sub. – 36% excellent), Emmanuelidou 5 (4/12 ref., 1 ace), Fariol 4 (3/9 ref., 1 block), Koumboura 28 (26/ 68 ref., 2 blocks), Abderrahim 10 (9/42 ref., 1 ace, 81% ref. – 38% excellent), Di Iulius 1 (1 ace) / Artakianou (l, 71% sub. – 34% excellent), Lavda 1 (1/1 ff.), Lambrousi 1 (1 block), Kalandatze 2 (1/2 ref., 1 ace), Fakopoulidou 2 (2/8 ref., 42% sub. – 17% excellent).

All match statistics in detail