VakifBank Istanbul vs Imoco Volley Conegliano comparison
Imoco Volley Conegliano maintains a competitive edge through a 15-match CEV Champions League winning streak. VakifBank Istanbul remains a strong contender following recent victories led by players like Kiera Van Ryk and Melissa Bosovic.
Recent Champions League performances
VakifBank secured a 3-0 win against FC Porto in their Leg 4 match. They won the sets 25-14, 25-18, and 25-18. Zehra Gunes led the team during the first set, which ended 14-10 and 17-10. Kiera Van Ryk scored 13 points. Cansu Ozbay earned the MVP award after returning from a long injury rehabilitation. VakifBank played in front of almost 2000 spectators in the Vakifbank Spor Sarayi. The team recorded 43 winning spikes, 8 kill blocks, and 11 aces. Imoco beat Maritza Plovdiv 3-0 with scores of 25-18, 25-12, and 25-19. Isabelle Haak scored 19 points. Cristina Chirichella earned the MVP award with 8 points. Imoco maintains a 15-match winning streak in the CEV Champions League. Imoco showed power in the second set with a 25-12 win after leading 17-11. Maritza led for the first time in the third set, hitting 2-3 and 4-5, but Imoco regained control with a 10-8 lead. The first set for Imoco was close at 7-7 and 13-12 before they took the lead at 18-13.
Head-to-head statistics and history
VakifBank won a five-set marathon against Imoco in Istanbul with a score of 25-22, 25-18, 27-29, 23-25, and 11-15. Melissa Bosovic scored 33 points. Markova scored 31 points. This match attracted 8200 spectators at the Ulker Sports Arena. Imoco later beat VakifBank in a Golden Set in Ljubljana with a 15-11 score. While VakifBank managed a 3-2 victory in a marathon set in Istanbul, Imoco demonstrated their dominance by securing a 15-match winning streak and a quadruple including the Italian domestic league, the Italian Cup, and the Italian Supercup. You likely recognize the difficulty of these high-stakes encounters between two top European clubs.
| Match Context | Winner | Top Scorer | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 4 Match | VakifBank | Kiera Van Ryk (13) | Cansu Ozbay |
| Leg 4 Match | Imoco | Isabelle Haak (19) | Cristina Chirichella |
| Champions League Semi | VakifBank | Melissa Bosovic (33) | Gabriela Guimaraes (18) |
I note that Imoco’s recent form remains high. In their win against Maritza, Imoco recorded 38 winning spikes, 11 kill blocks, and 5 aces. Their opponent, Maritza, recorded 29 winning spikes, 2 kill blocks, and 4 aces. During the Istanbul match, Gabi scored 18 points and Zhu scored 16. Lazovic left the court due to injury during the fourth set.
Evaluating the tournament favorites
Imoco holds a clear edge in recent trophy counts. They secured the CEV Champions League title last season via a ten-match winning streak where they dropped only 10 sets. Gabi Guimaraes and Zhu Ting joined the roster in the summer. Gabi and Zhu helped the team win seven of their first seven matches in the domestic league. This included a 3-0 win over Savino Del Bene Scandicci. VakifBank also shows strength. In the 2021 FIVB Women’s Club World Championship, VakifBank beat Minas 3-0 with scores of 25-19, 29-27, and 25-23. Isabelle Haak scored 18 points in that match. Gabi Guimaraes scored 14 points. Zehra Gunes contributed 11 points to the victory. In that same tournament, Imoco beat Minas 3-1 with scores of 23-25, 26-24, 25-15, and 25-19. Paola Egonu scored 28 points with an attacking efficiency of 62%. This included 13 points in the second set alone. Can VakifBank break the Italian streak? Imoco comes out ahead due to their ability to secure titles and maintain long winning streaks.
