Arkas, Fener play for top prize in men’s volleyball

ÇANAKKALE

Fenerbahçe Grundig and Arkasspor are tied at 1-1 in the finals series.

Arkasspor and Fenerbahçe Grundig will meet tonight for the deciding match in the Aroma Turkish Volleyball League.

The best-of-three finals series is tied at 1-1 and tonight’s game at Çanakkale Anafartalar Sports Hall will decide the winner of the national title in men’s volleyball.

Fenerbahçe Grundig, which finished the regular season in the third spot, won the opening game of the series in three straight sets (26-28, 17-25 and 20-25) on April 21, but Arkas, the regular season runner-up, bounced back with another three-set victory (25-22, 25-21 and 25-21) on April 23.

Arkas beat regular season leader Halkbank, while Fenerbahçe beat archrival Galatasaray Yurtiçi in the semifinals.

Arkas’ Canadian coach Glenn Hoag said the deciding match would be more difficult than the second game.
“In the second game, we were more patient than the first one, and shrugged off the tension on our side,” he told Anatolia news agency. “We focused on the game very well and won the second game but Fenerbahçe Grundig is a good side with some star players and they will be up for it as well.”

Defending champion Fener has three league titles in its history while Arkas has two.