07 December 2023

Another victory and qualification to the final-8!

Olympiacos secured the qualification to the round of 8 after the victory against Lokomotiv Baku in Azerbaijan. This is the third consecutive qualification after those against Inegol and Tours. The Greek team was the dominant of the two games without losing any set. The next opponent is the Belgian Menen. The next first game will be held in Belgium on 13 February and the rematch in Piraeus on 27.

Key action:

Olympiacos was serious and preceded!

The ‘’Legend’’ started the game very strongly and imposed its rhythm from the beginning, gaining the lead in the first technical timeout (3-8). Bohme and Rawerdink increased the margin the +8 in the second one (8-16). The "red-white" dominance continued and led to a double-digit difference (8-18). The first set ended 25-11 for Olympiacos.

It took the set and qualified!

At the start of the second set, Lokomotiv led 3-0 but Olympiacos equalized to 3-3. The ‘’Reds’’ went ahead for first time after the first technical timeout. Then, it run a 5-0 streak to 10-15. It continued to be the leader of the set with Bohme scoring for 11-19 and 12-20. Lokomotiv tried to react and reduced to 18-22 but Zoupani and Rawerdink secured the second set for the Greek team (20-25).

Benitez rotated the line-up and Olympiacos won!

In the third set and given that the goal of the qualification was achieved, the coach of Olympiacos, Fernando Munoz Benitez, gave time to the other players who had not played until then. This set was the closest one. Olympiacos was back with 21-19 but tied the set twice (21-21 and 23-23). Roumeliotakis and Zoupani scored and gave the win to the ‘’Reds’’.

Match stats:

The sets: 0-3: 12-25 (23'), 20-25 (25'), 24-26 (27')

1st set: 3-8, 8-16, 11-21, 12-25

2nd set: 7-8, 11-16, 14-21, 20-25

3rd set: 8-6, 14-16, 21-19, 24-26

Statistics:

Olympiacos (Munoz Benitez Fernando): Oivanen 8 (6/12 attacks, 2 blocks), Petreas 3 (2/3 attacks, 1 block), Bohme 6 (2/2 attacks, 1 ace, 3 blocks), Drzyzga 3 (1 ace, 2 blocks), Aleksiev 7 (5/8 attacks, 2 blocks, 33% pos-33% exc.), Rauwerdink 10 (8/14 attacks, 2 blocks, 73% pos-55% exc.), Stefanou (L, 69% pos-54% exc.), Daridis (L), Zoupani 9 (8/13 attacks, 1 block), Roumeliotakis 4 (4/5 attacks, 25% pos-25%exc.), Stivachtis, Andreadis 1 (1/3 attacks), Tselios

Lokomotiv Baku (Farid Jalalov): Bayramov 7 (6/14, 1 ace, 38% pos- 21% exc.), Vasilenko 1 (1 block), Ibragimov 5 (4/16 attacks, 1 ace, 54% pos-46% exc.), Samadov 8 (8/22 attacks), Obodnikov 5 (3/5 attacks, 2 blocks), Chervyakov 4 (2/3 attacks, 1 ace, 1 block), Kazachkov 3 (2/2 attacks, 1 ace), Allahverdiyev (36% pos – 14% exc.), Abdurazakov, Aliyev, Baranov 4 (3/5 attacks, 1 ace, 36% pos-14% exc.), Jafari, Magomedov

Quotes:

Benitez said: ‘’ We played very well in both games and our qualification is fair. We knew that Lokomotiv Baku would be more dangerous at home than in the first game in Piraeus and we were concentrated to win the game. I am very happy that we won for our fans and now, are proceeding to the next round. Congratulations to all players and staff. After the first two sets, we remained focused and those players did their best. "

Stephanou stated: "We were serious and knew that we were better than our opponent. Lately we have begun to improve our performance and this is the most optimistic in the current phase as we have tough games in the next rounds. We want to be better and better. The next game is against Niki Aiginou and after that, we will focus on the next opponent in the Challenge Cup.’’