18/10/2017 09:19
Matchup featuring CL rookies to steal the show in Tel Aviv
2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League - Men
Tel Aviv, Israel, October 18, 2017. Maccabi TEL-AVIV are hosting Shakhtior SOLIGORSK on Wednesday night in one of four matches on schedule for the second round of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men. It is actually the ‘Match of the Week’ for this round with live commentary in English available on LAOLA1.tv. It is a highly anticipated matchup, especially since these teams are making their historic debut in Europe’s elite club competition. The re-match will take place on Sunday in Belarus and determine which side will eventually progress to the third round.
Maccabi TEL-AVIV
- Maccabi TEL-AVIV are Israel’s reigning national champions.
- Ukraine’s Mykola Rudnitskiy joined the ranks of Maccabi after playing in Romania last year and is set to join forces with the other middle blocker on the starting six, Guy Genis, who has stayed on from last season.
- A number of members of the Israeli national team feature on the roster of Maccabi. These are Shon Faiga and Ariel Hilman, who have returned to play indoors after a few seasons on the beach, Ariel Katzenelson and the young, talented Iliya Goldrin.
- Breadn McLean, a member of the Canadian national team, has joined Maccabi for the 2017-2018 season as well together with the experienced Brazilian player Leonardo Dos Santos Ribeiro Nascimento (38).
Shakhtior SOLIGORSK
- Shakhtior SOLIGORSK are the reigning national champions of Belarus.
- Last season they stunned multiple national champions Stroitel MINSK to claim the league title for the first time in their history – and thus the right to play in the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League.
- Stroitel MINSK played Maccabi TEL-AVIV in previous editions of the European Cups.
- Shakhtior head coach, Viktar Beksha, recently took over the reins of the Belarusian national team.
Quotes
Zohar Bar Netzer, head coach of Maccabi: “We are very excited and look forward to our historic debut in the CEV Volleyball Champions League. This time around we had a good preparation phase since our foreign players have been with us for about a month already.”
Viktar Beksha, head coach of Shakhtior: “Our opponents have more information about us than we have about Maccabi. We know that they have a strong roster but our priority is to play without making too many mistakes. These teams have tall middle blockers and I assume these will be playing a leading role in this match. We will be trying to put a lot of pressure with our serve and to claim a victory from this first match. Any such success would be extremely important for us since we are participating in the Champions League for the very first time. I am confident that the fans will witness an interesting match when Shakhtior and Maccabi take to the court tonight.”
What’s next?
The winners of this fixture will play Italy’s heavyweight Sir Colussi Sicoma PERUGIA in the next round of the competition. PERUGIA are the silver medallists from the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League and their roster includes major Volleyball stars such as Ivan Zaytsev.
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