Trentino Diatec needed a top effort to subdue a valiant Al-Rayyan in five sets on Saturday in Doha

Doha, Qatar, October 13, 2012 – The most dramatic match of the opening day in the FIVB Club World Championships was reserved for the last contest of Saturday as three-time defending champions Trentino Diatec were pushed to the limit by the Al-Rayyan Club of Qatar.

The Italian club had to erase a 2-1 deficit before subduing a fiery Al-Rayyan supported by an enthusiastic local crowd at Aspire Zone Hall of Doha.

It was the last of three men’s matches of an opening program that saw PGE Skra Belchatow edging Zamalek of Egypt in three close sets after Sada Cruzeiro demolished Mexico’s Tigres de Nuevo Leon in straight sets.

In the women’s field, earlier on Saturday the Lancheras de Cataño defeated Kenya Prisons in Pool B of the six-team event.

Trentino Diatec 3, Al-Rayyan 2
Three-time defending champions Trentino Diatec outdueled Al-Rayyan of Qatar in a thrilling five-setter (22-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-17, 15-9) in the last match of opening day.

Osmany Juantorena and Emanuele Birarelli each recorded 15 points to spearhead the winners while Matey Kaziyski added 14. Valentin Bratoev and Mikko Oivanen each recorded 20 points for Al-Rayyan while Sirianis Mendez and Rodrigao Santana added 12 and 10 respectively.

Birarelli and Juantorena contributed 6 and 4 blocks to the total of 16 registered by Trentino against 11 of Al-Rayyan. The defeated side led in service winners 7-5 but made also 39 errors to 23 by the winners.

PGE Skra Belchatow 3, Zamalek 0
Poland’s PGE Skra Belchatow defeated a tough Zamalek of Egypt in straight sets (27-25, 25-19, 28-26) in a match of men’s Pool B. The Polish club had an 8-4 advantage in blocking but Zamalek had the favorable margin in the service ace department 7-2.

Aleksandar Atanasijevic and Mariusz Wlazly were the best scorers of the winning side with 14 and 11 points respectively. Michal Winiarski added 9 and Daniel Plinski and Karol Klos each contributed 7 points. Zamalek’s Reda Haikal had a match-high 22 points followed by Mohamed Badawy with 11 tallies.

Sada Cruzeiro 3, Nuevo Leon 0
Sada Cruzeiro of Brazil scored an easy straight-set victory (25-17, 25-13, 25-18) over Tigres de Nuevo Leon of Mexico to open the action of men’s Pool A. The winners held a 5-1 difference in blocks and also bested their opponents in service aces 7-3.

Wallace de Souza and Filipe Ferraz topped Sada Cruzeiro with 13 and 11 points respectively. Douglas Cordeiro added nine while Mauricio Borges and Marcos Leal finished with 7 apiece. Samuel Córdova and Jesús Valdes each totaled 8 points for the defeated side while Juan Virgen finished with seven points.

In the women’s competition:

Lancheras 3, Kenya Prisons 1
Lancheras de Cataño opened with a 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-19, 25-23) victory over Kenya Prisons in the first match of women’s Pool B. Kenya held a slight 16-15 advantage in blocks and dominated the aces category 7-2. However, Lancheras gave away only 17 points in errors to 32 by the defeated side.

Yarimar Rosa led five Lancheras players with double digits in scoring with 18 points, including three blocks and one ace, followed by Tatiana Encarnacion with 13 all via attacks. Shanon Torregrosa added five blocks among her 12 points while Jessica Jones and Jetzabel Del Valle each contributed 10 tallies. Mercy Moim topped Kenya Prisons with 17 points and Lydia Maiyo added 13. Brackcides Khadambi and Diana Kisha each finished with 11 points and Everlyne Makuto had 10.

Top scorer by day
22 – Reda Haikal of Zamalek v PGE Skra Belchatow 13-10-12

Top scoring performances
22 – Reda Haikal of Zamalek v PGE Skra Belchatow 13-10-12
20 – Valentin Bratoev of Al-Rayyan v Trentino Diatec 13-10-12
20 – Mikko Oivanen of Al-Rayyan v Trentino Diatec 13-10-12

Top blocking performances
6 – Emanuel Birarelli of Trentino Diatec v Al-Rayyan 13-10-12
4 – Osmany Juantorena of Trentino Diatec v Al-Rayyan 13-10-12
4 – Valentin Bratoev of Al-Rayyan v Trentino Diatec 13-10-12

Top serving performances
3 – Matey Kaziyski of Trentino Diatec v Al-Rayyan 13-10-12

Highest scoring sets
28-26 PGE Skra Belchatow v Zamalek (3er set) 13-10-12
27-25 PGE Skra Belchatow v Zamalek (1st set) 13-10-12

Highest scoring matches
204 – Trentino Diatec d Al-Rayyan 3-2 (22-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-17, 15-9) 13-10-12

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