In the second round of the Women's Volleyball Champions League group stage, Zhu Ting's reigning champions, Conegliano Volleyball Club, had to travel to Croatia to face Zagreb Volleyball Club. In the previous Italian league match, Zhu Ting was rested, but ultimately failed to rest as she came on in the final stages to replace Gaby for blocking. This was also the first time Zhu Ting had to come on to save the game while being rested since joining Conegliano. After four rounds of the Champions League group stage, Conegliano has won all four matches, only losing one set, so their advantage is quite obvious. The Champions League group stage is also an opportunity for Conegliano to train their players, with the main players often getting the chance to rest. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how Santarelli deploys his troops for this match.
Ultimately, Conegliano won 3-0, securing their fifth consecutive victory and currently topping the group. The scores of the three sets were 25-16, 25-16, 25-23, with the opponent showing their level in the third set. For this match, Conegliano's main lineup was mostly rested, with Zhu Ting leading the team alone, partnering with Lukašik on the main attack line, Japanese player Kan Natsu as the second setter, and the familiar Rubian as the vice attacker. Zhu Ting performed well in this match, scoring a total of 14 points with 22 attacks, 13 successful hits, and 1 block, with only 1 block against her, maintaining a high efficiency. This was also one of the rare matches where Zhu Ting was not heavily targeted by the opposition.
Zhu Ting only received 6 serves throughout the match, conserving energy and allowing her to cooperate more closely with the substitute setter. If Zhu Ting were constantly targeted, her offensive efficiency would inevitably decrease. Vice attacker Rubian scored 14 points with 12 attacks, 10 successful hits, 3 blocks, and 1 serve, tying with Zhu Ting for the highest score in the match. However, her efficiency was clearly higher, which is why Rubian was awarded the MVP of the match, a decision that is not particularly controversial. For Zhu Ting, as long as she can play healthily, extending her career is the most important thing. After all, in her younger years, she has already won numerous MVP awards and is known as the "MVP Harvester."
Hack's substitute Adiwei scored 11 points, while Grabić from the opposing team scored the highest for her team with 11 points, also the only player from the opposing team to score in double digits. In terms of overall statistics between the two teams, Conegliano won 13 points in offense, 3 points in serving, and 1 point in blocking, with 3 more self-inflicted errors. This substitute lineup actually played quite well, at least ensuring offensive capabilities. There is only one match left in the group stage, with their opponents being the Polish powerhouse Resovia Rzeszów, who have a record of 4 wins and 1 loss. The two teams will compete for the top spot in the group, so it is likely that Conegliano will field their full-strength lineup in the next match. Let us look forward to their potential sixth consecutive victory.
