Ukrainian playmaker Oleg Plotnytskyi, together with the Italian Perugia, won the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against the Spanish Las Palmas in a tiebreaker.
Following the group stage, Perugia took first place in Group C, which allowed them to qualify directly for the quarter-finals. While Las Palmas, who played in the same quartet, took second place and fought for a place in the quarter-finals with French side Montpellier.
Suspilne Sport is the official broadcaster of the Volleyball Champions League matches. Watch live broadcasts of the matches on the Suspilne Sport platforms and local Suspilne channels.
The teams met twice in the group stage of this year's Champions League. In both cases, the Italian team proved to be stronger than their opponents.
How was the match between Perugia and Las Palmas?
- Perugia seized the initiative at the start of the first set, but the Spanish team managed to reduce the gap to one point and in the end the fate of the first set was decided in the very end, where the Italians turned out to be stronger – 25:23.
- The second set was completely Perugia's advantage, with the reigning champions taking the lead from the start of the game and only increasing their lead to six points by the end — 25:19.
- In the third, the teams traded points until the score was 18:18. After that, Las Palmas made a dash of four points in a row, which ultimately allowed them to win with a score of 25:21.
- In the fourth set, Perugia, thanks in part to Plotnytsky's actions, gained an advantage, but at the end of the game, Las Palmas seized the initiative and tied the score at 25:23.
- The winner of the match was determined in a tiebreak. With the score tied at 4:4, Perugia took the lead, thanks in part to Plotnytsky's first ace. As a result, the Italian team snatched victory in the match.
- Oleg Plotnytskyi tied for second place in scoring in the match, scoring 20 points.
Champions League. Quarter-finals (men, first leg)
“Las Palmas” (Spain) – “Perugia” (Italy) 2:3 (23:25, 19:25, 25:21, 25:23, 13:15)
The return match between Perugia and Las Palmas will be held on Wednesday, April 1, at 9:30 PM Kyiv time.