Milona took the first step towards the Greek Volley League final after defeating PAOK 3:0 (25:22, 25:22, 25:22) in the first match of the semifinal series, played in the "Kroisos Persis" hall. Thus, the team from Nea Smyrni took a 1-0 lead in wins.
The match was controlled by the hosts, who were more effective in attack and displayed more stable play in the key moments of each set. The main figure for the victory was the Canadian opposite hitter Casey Schouten, who scored 17 points and was the most productive player in the match.
For PAOK, Bulgarian national player Nikolay Kolev had a more limited participation and finished with 2 points.
The first two sets were even until the middle, but Milona always found a solution in the decisive rallies. In the third set, the hosts took an early lead and controlled the rhythm until the end, to close the match in three sets.
Team Statistics
| Team | Aces | Attacks | Blocks | Points from opponent's errors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milona | 4 | 43 (55%) | 7 | 21 |
| PAOK | 1 | 31 (44%) | 5 | 29 |
The numbers show that Milona had a significant advantage in attack – 55% efficiency against 44% for PAOK. Furthermore, the hosts were also more productive in blocking, which compensated for the higher number of points PAOK received from opponent's errors.
Top Scorers
Milona:
Schouten 17 (15/22 attack, 2 blocks), Poluyan 14 (11/22 attack, 3 aces), Agamez 9 (6/11 attack, 3 blocks), Nanopoulos 9 (8/18 attack, 1 block)
PAOK:
Hernandez 13 (13/28 attack), Jendryk 9 (7/9 attack, 2 blocks), Kovacevic 7 (5/18 attack, 2 blocks), Nikolay Kolev 2 (1/4 attack, 1 block)
