Despite falling twice behind 1-0 and 2-1, Panathinaikos’ golden substitution, Hadava replacing Konstantinos in the first set, clinched a ticket to the Greek Cup quarter-finals in women’s volleyball, beating Olympiakos 3-2 sets in Renti. The greens were spirited and easier to read at a time when Olympiacos had a lot of gaps, especially when Hadava was on duty.

Panathinaikos took full advantage of this and with Canadian center Jennifer Cross partying at the net, the Greens exited doubles and qualification for the Quarters. Hipe did what he could for Olympiakos, but Panathinaikos was superior in the match and took the win.

The race

Olympiacos started the first set significantly better than his opponent and was roughly in midfield with a four-point difference. The Greens reacted, but Olympiakos was able to conquer them with attacks from the middle and pressing service and lead 1-0 sets. The second set clearly belonged to Panathinaikos, who was dominant on the breaks, pressed Olympiakos and even led to 10 with a very good block, taking advantage of Red-Whites’ mistakes in the final. With Cross’s freshman year, the Greens were tied 1-1 in the match, which sparked renewed interest.

In an interesting third set, both teams started level on points, with Olympiakos winning 12-7 after very good service and efficiency on the counterattack. With Hadava on serve, Panathinaikos reduced to two (16-14) but Olympiakos pressed and won the set 25-20. Olympiakos’ start was better again, but with Hadava in service and Cross dominating the net, Panathinaikos brought the game to a tie (9-9). The greens were ahead but Olympiakos found points from Hippe. Two consecutive blocks by the Germans gave the guests the lead and led the match to a tie-break.

Panathinaikos dominated there, led 12:3 and confidently won the tie-break and thus the ticket for the quarter-finals of the cup.

THE SENTENCES: 25-22, 17-25, 25-20, 20-25, 6-15.