Fenerbahçe Grundig ISTANBUL came from a set down to win the CEV DenizBank Champions League – Women bronze medal after defeating Dinamo KAZAN 3-1 (20-25, 25-10, 25-18, 25-17) at PalaGeorge.  

It was a repeat of the 2010/11 edition for Fenerbahçe who took bronze at the Final Four in Turkey, a tournament which they qualified for as hosts. This bronze medal was their best return in the competition since 2011/12 when they won gold.  

It was an even start to the first set as both teams traded points, but after the 2011/12 champions established a one-point lead at the first technical time-out, they lost their way and fell 14-11 behind. The Russians maintained their lead as Daria Isaeva scored well and they were six points ahead at 21-15. Elitsa Vasileva did not feature for Dinamo due to a leg injury, and despite Ekaterina Gamova and Evgeniya Startseva also being absent, they cruised to a first set victory of 25-20.  

After struggling to get into the match on Saturday, Kim Yeon Koung was impressive for the Yellow Angels as she helped establish a 10-6 lead. Further points were put on the board as Kazan began to fall apart as they did in their semifinal, and Fener led by eight points at the second technical time-out. A yellow card was shown by referee Arturo Di Giacomo to Dinamo coach Rishat Gilyazutdinov for delaying the action and Fener won the set at a canter, 25-10, after a great block from Dicle Nur Babat.  
With the teams level overall at one set a piece, the teams stayed close in the third set, but Fenerbahçe often led by one or two, despite Olesya Nikolaeva’s scoring for Dinamo. The Turkish side had a four-point gap at the second technical time-out and it only got better for Abbondanza’s team, as they picked up eight set points. Kim’s powerful spike was too much for Dinamo to deal with and they prevailed 25-18 to turn the match around.  

An excellent ace from Polen Uslupehlivan gave Fenerbahçe a 4-3 lead early in the fourth set and despite Dinamo’s performance improving, the result seemed inevitable as Fener held onto their advantage. It was 16-10 to Fener at the second technical time-out and they team knew the medal was a matter of minutes away. Fenerbahçe captain Eda Erdem Dündar, who is in her eighth year with the club, served consecutive aces to her side within three points of victory at 22-15 and the bronze medal was confirmed when Nikolaeva served into the net to make it 25-17.

Champions League. Final Four. 3rd place match.
Dinamo (KAZAN, Russia) – Fenerbahce (ISTANBUL, Turkey) – 3:0 (25:19, 25:18, 25:19)
10th April. Italy. Montichiari. Arena “PalaGeorge”.
Referee: Di Giacomo A. (Belgium). Time match: 1.45 (34+21+25+25).
Dinamo: Malkova (2), Matienko, Gendel (5), Del Core (10), Nikolaeva (16), Stolyarova (11) – start six, Kuzyakina (libero), Ulanova (libero), Borodakova – C (5), Ezhova, Melnikova.
Fenerbahce: Babat (10), Ismailoglu (1), Kim (18), Mihajlovic (1), Erdem (17), Skorupa (2) – start six, Dalbeler (libero), Uslupehlivan (15), Dilik (2), Ercan, Bosetti (9).
Points – 70:95, serve – 2:10, attack – 43:52, block – 4:13, reception – 56%:77%, error – 26:22