With the support of about a thousand people in Los Montecillos, the Unicaja Andalusia Foundation of Dos Hermanas starred on a historic night this Wednesday by coming back from the tie in the golden set against CV Panathinaikos (3-0 in the first leg) and qualifying for the round of 16 of the CEV Challenge Cup.
The Nazarene team started the game with great intensity in a pavilion that presented its best appearance so far this season. The equality was maximum at the beginning but Panathinaikos took better advantage of their options to make the score 8-12. The Sevillian team recovered to an interesting 13-14 thanks to good defenses and Louise Sanso attacking in the center, but again the Greeks came away from three points and Ricardo Torronteras had to call a timeout.
The Fundación then raised the level of service with Helena Orejas and Sira Plaza defended big balls, closing the set 25-21. There was license to dream and the Fundación Unicaja Andalucía continued to hurt the Greek blockade to make it 7-3. The Greeks are a very strong block and they showed it by bringing out their best version in attack and making it 11-14. They did not lower their level and the Nazarenes tried but the rival blockade became strong. They finally closed the quarter 18-25.
At 1-1, there was no room for error and the Nazarene team understood that perfectly. The Unicaja Andalucía Foundation’s attack began to score with great Maguilaura Frias and Emma Ellis until 10-15. Panathinaikos called a timeout, took a risk on the serve and made it 15-13. But the stands also raised the decibels and the defenses were key to the 19-15 score. From there the local team grew to score the third set 25-20.
He needed to win the fourth to force the golden set. Fundación Unicaja Andalucía came out confident in their chances and soon made it 9-6 after the longest point of the match with up to twelve exchanges. Equality returned to the scoreboard. The fight at each point and the blocking order led to a 21-13 score that delighted the fans. In a sea of madness, the Nazarenes scored 25-20 (3-1) that forced the golden set. And it started in the best way, with the fans pushing hard and carrying the team along to score an 8-3 start on the scoreboard. The Nazarene blockade did not allow the Greeks’ balls to pass and became strong in the attack. And so this beautiful story ended, with 15-6 and the Unicaja Andalucía Foundation sealing their place in the round of 16 of the CEV Challenge Cup.
