Zenit Kazan's players are yet to drop a set in the Champions League
Lausanne, Switzerland, April 29, 2017 – Zenit Kazan continued their dominant form in the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men, to reach the final with a straight sets win over Berlin Recycling Volleys in the semifinals at the PalaLottomatica in Rome on Saturday.
They again won in straight sets, this time 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-13) and the Russian side will now take on Sir Sicoma Colussi Perugia in the final on Sunday after they defeated their fellow Italians Cucine Lube Civitanova 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 21-25, 15-9).
“It's been a while since we got out in the court and played,” said Zenit's Matthew Anderson. “Even the best athletes resort to their comfort zones in bad moments. After the first set and a half we started to play a lot better and just kept playing.”“Of course I am happy with the result but we have to keep in mind that we still have not won anything,” Perugia coach Lorenzo Bernardi said. “Tomorrow we will play an incredibly strong team – but I repeat what I said yesterday; today we beat the favourites of this competition.
“Tomorrow we will be the underdogs and play with the same intensity and joy we showed today. I always try to keep my players as motivated as possible and I did so after we lost badly to Trentino in the semis of the national league. Anything can happen and it is in our hands to make it happen again.”
Berlin and Civitanova will now meet in the bronze medal match on Sunday ahead of the final.