JERUSALEM, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Israeli champions Maccabi Haifa achieved a home win over Austria's UVC Graz 25-18, 25-22, 25-15 in the main phase of the women's European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) Challenge Cup on Tuesday evening.
The opening set of the first-leg match, played at the Ben Zvi Hall in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, was dominated by the hosts, mainly thanks to points by the Croatian opposite Katarina Pilepic and blocks by Serbian outside hitter Ivana Jeremic.
The second set was closer and decided in favor of Haifa with spikes by Pilepic, and Jeremic inspired her teammates to secure the match victory in the third set.
Pilepic and Jeremic contributed 15 points each, while their teammate Briana Holman added nine. Linda Peischl finished with a team-high 11 points for Graz.
The second-leg match will be played in the same hall on Wednesday, and the winners on aggregate will face VfB Suhl Thuringen of Germany in the last 16. ■
