Allianz Powervolley MILANO triumphed with the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup 2021 Men after seizing another 3-2 victory over the Turkish Ziraat Bankasi SK ANKARA in the final stage of the competition. The clash between both teams was highlighted by twists and turns but the players around head coach Roberto Piazza congratulated themselves after being better on the serve (6 aces) and block (13) becoming these two elements the key to the success. Jean Patry from the winners’ side recorded 26 points to his name and became MVP of the matchup.

A cat-and-mouse game marked the first minutes of the match as neither Ziraat Bankasi SK ANKARA nor Allianz Powervolley MILANO were able to build a comfortable point difference. Some good actions on the block and in attack helped the Italian team to start feeling more comfortable on the field while the Turkish side let some unforced errors affect their game. However, the players around head coach Giampaolo Medei, got back on track improving in the decisive moments in attack, breathing down their opponents’ necks in the end of the set. Nevertheless, MILANO found the right way and emerged victorious with Jean Patry topping the charts with 8 points in these moments.

Ziraat Bankasi SK ANKARA entered highly motivated in the second set, performing well on attack. With the set unfolding, the team from MILANO pushed hard on the serve (2 aces) but ANKARA’s players were impeccable on the net until the 15th point (12-4). Team leader Wouter Ter Maat was on fire but MILANO weren’t giving in easily, and showing their best in the last minutes, equalised at 23-23. Martin Atanasov of Ziraat with a sharp attack helped his teammates to tie the set score.

Both the hosts and the guests were showing some good and equal performance in the different components in the third set, but Ziraat Bankasi SK ANKARA slowly took control of the game, excelling on block and attack. They continued on being the better on the court and took the lead at 2-1.

In the next set, Allianz Powervolley MILANO were slightly better than their opponents were and started building a comfortable points-difference. They were able to remain more concentrated and bring the match into tiebreak.

In the decisive part, Jean Patry and his teammates started better, with good play on the serve making it difficult for ANKARA’s team to organize their game. Yuki Ishikawa put the end of the discussion with a great attack and brought the happiness to the Milano’s team.

Jean Patry was on fire for Allianz Powervolley Milano with his 26 points (10 break points). Tine Urnaut contributed with 17 for his team’s victory. For the Turkish side, Ter Maat finished with 21 points, while Martin Atanasov added 20.