A little late to the party...
It may have taken 2 years but at least we got our 5 setter CL final between these two teams. Congratulations to Conegliano, and congratulations to Vakif as well. Today it may not have been the highest level of volleyball, but, at the end, there were nail-biting moments, great rallies, a very close score, five sets and also, very importantly, two healthy, full-force teams. I personally felt very emotional after the end of this match, realizing club season is over, but, at the same time, I'm very excited about the upcoming VNL (and the Olympics. duh...).
Now, regarding the game, I really cannot understand why Gio didn't sub Kubra and Cansu in today, if not for entire match/sets, at least during moments when it was clearly evident that Milena and Maja were struggling. Kubra especially could have contributed nicely thanks to her height. Same with Fahr and Folie (although she had some nice kills, but she must have gifted Vakifbank like, an entire set's worth of points). I found myself screaming at my TV,or, actually, at Maja, when she wouldn't stop setting Haak and profoundly ignored her two OHs, who were having a good day, and could have also scored more points, had they been given the chance. Adams was very good, Asia, Robin and Moki played relatively nice. Kudos to Ayca, I expected her at some point to break down on serve receive, but thankfully she proved me wrong! I'm very happy Kimmie closes out her career with such an accomplishment! And finally... the two OPPs... I lost count on how many times I clapped and cheered today for both of them (in our living room, right next to my-completely oblivious about volleyball-parents). They were both amazing! Egonu spiking over and over again over the block was gold. And Bella proved she deserves to be considered as one of the best 3 OPPs in the world right now. If only she could play VNL and Olympics too!
Overall, it was a highly enjoyable (and, of course, nervous as hell) afternoon. I think both us, the fans, and the teams very well deserved it!
Kubra had Covid recently and I believe she is out of condition. I agree Cansu should have been given some more chances but also understand that he probably expected Maja to find her rhythm because nobody expected such bad game from Maja.
