Luxembourg, October 17, 2018. The deciding matches of Round 1 of the 2019 CEV Volleyball Champions League will be held on Wednesday, as teams will meet on court for the second time to determine which seven teams will move into the next round along with Neftohimic 2010 BURGAS. All hosts except for Lindemans AALST, who lost in Spain, have an away victory under their belt, meaning they are in a favourable position before heading into battle on home soil.
ISTANBUL BBSK (TUR) vs. Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA (FIN)
• After recording a 3-2 victory over Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA of Finland, the players of ISTANBUL BBSK will hold their first home match of the 2019 CEV Volleyball Champions League.
• The occasion will be even more special as it will also be the first match in their brand new home arena - Hidayet Turkoglu Sports Hall.
• All players on the roster of ISTANBUL BBSK are local, including three of them, who play for the Turkish National Team - Murat Yenipazar, Gökhan Gökgöz and Metin Toy.
• SASTAMALA were eliminated in the group stage of the 2018 edition - what was already a historic achievement for the Finns and a Volleyball team from the Nordic countries.
“Last week, we won the away match 3-2 but I can say that there will be a tough battle between these two teams again. SASTAMALA is a good team, but we want to win the debut match in our new arena and qualify to the 2nd Round of the CEV Volleyball Champions League,” shared the team captain of ISTANBUL BBSK, Özkan Hayirli.
ISTANBUL BBSK head coach Hakan Özkan: “We have had two matches so far and tomorrow's game will be our first official match this season in front of our fans. We can play better than we did in Finland and have to remain focussed. I hope we can qualify for next round.”
PAOK THESSALONIKI (GRE) vs. VRCK KAZINCBARCIKA (HUN)
• For PAOK THESSALONIKI this is the fourth year in a row they are competing in the Champions League and they have reached the main phase in two of these occasions, i.e. in 2015/2016 and 2017/2018. On the other hand, VRCK KAZINCBARCIKA are absolute beginners in Europe’s elite club competition and in fact are the first ever men’s Volleyball team from Hungary playing at this level.
• The Greek side has earned a slight advantage after their away victory in the first leg, so another victory will automatically secure them the ticket to Round 2. Nevertheless, the visting team lead by Marek Kardos will definitely be ready to fight hard, just as they did on home soil in Nyíregyháza last week.
• The Thessaloniki-based black-and-whites won the domestic Cup last season, but they lost the Greek Championship title to Olympiacos PIRAEUS after three victorious years. This led to the arrival of 36-year-old Romanian coach Sergiu Stancu last summer, after his successful season back home with Tricolorul PLOIESTI. As a player, Stancu had been a runner-up of the CEV Champions League back in 2007 with the French club TOURS VB.
• PAOK are yet to lose this season, as they have started with four victories in as many matches: Three of them were against domestic rivals for the Greek League Cup, thus qualifying to the semifinals of the competition, while the most recent one came on Hungarian soil against VRCK KAZINCBARCIKA.
• As always, PAOK will count a great deal on the support of their enthusiastic fans, who are expected to create a unique atmosphere at PAOK Sports Arena, as they usually do.
“We expect a tough game on Wednesday. We saw in Hungary that VRCK KAZINCBARCIKA is a competitive team and for sure they will try again to do their best. Last week I was happy to see my players come from behind and get the victory. Now we have to play another good match and show our quality as a team. I hope that PAOK THESSALONIKI fans will come to support us and give us strength. I am certain that, together with them, our team will play a good match and get a good result,” said Sergiu Stancu, head coach of PAOK THESSALONIKI.
“In the first leg we did quite well against a really strong side and we might have a chance to surprise them once more, if we manage to play again at this level. We must serve well and attack every ball. We cannot be shy in attack. Tzourits is one of the key players of PAOK and we have to find a way to force him to make errors. If we can’t manage this and he reaches a percentage of 60% in attack or more, we will have a hard night,” commented Marek Kardos, head coach of VRCK KAZINCBARCIKA.
United Volleys FRANKFURT (GER) vs. Shakhtior SOLIGORSK (BLR) - Match of the Week!
• This is the first season in the CEV Volleyball Champions League for United Volleys FRANKFURT.
• The United Volleys have recorded a hat-trick of bronze medals in the German Championship between 2016 and 2018.
• Canadian Stelio DeRocco is now at the helm of the German club.
• The club’s concept is: Supporting young, talented players in their development to become international top athletes.
• The roster of the hosts boasts three players of the German national team - silver medallists of the 2017 European Championship: Julian Zenger, Tobias Krick, Moritz Karlitzek.
“I expect the game to be very difficult. We have to be prepared to play our best volleyball. In Minsk we made a statement and we started the first chapter of this process in the Champions League. Now we have got to go to chapter two,” said Stelio DeRocco, coach of United Volleys FRANKFURT.
“Objectively, the German club did everything better that day than we did. There were a couple of moments that could have changed the course of the match, but no more. I note that FRANKFURT competently uses their tactics. The setter clearly knows where to pass, each spiker is already in his point, waiting for the set. We need more matches with such high-level opponents. In the second game in Germany, we will try to prove that Shakhtior is capable of more than it showed in the Sports Palace in Minsk,” shared the setter of Shakhtior SOLIGORSK, Mikalai Shkliar.
CHAUMONT VB 52 HM (FRA) vs. Viking TIF BERGEN (NOR)
• CHAUMONT VB 52 HM will be having their first Champions League home match after claiming an away victory against the Vikings in straight sets.
• The American middle-blocker and member of the USA National team Taylor Averill will have his first ever Champions League match on Wednesday.
• The hosts will try to win to forget the last defeat they suffered in the French National championship.
“It will be a tough game, we will have to be really concentrated to win the match against this good team,” said Silvano Prandi, head coach of CHAUMONT VB 52 HM.
“They are a very good team; we are really happy to face such a good team. We noticed they lost their first National championship match, like us, so we will try our best to win this game,” added Ivar Bakken, head coach of Viking TIF BERGEN.
Posojilnica AICH/DOB (AUT) vs. Abiant Lycurgus GRONINGEN (NED)
• On Wednesday, Posojilnica AICH/DOB will try to make another step towards reaching the 2nd Round of the 2019 Volleyball Champions League – Men as the Austrians rallied to a comprehensive 3-1 (26-24, 25-22, 23-25, 25-18) away victory in their matchup with Abiant Lycurgus GRONINGEN last Thursday.
• AICH/DOB with their head coach Matjaž Hafner have already gained valuable experience in previous years as the Austrian underdog has been competing no less than three times in Europe’s elite competition and aims to celebrate the second victory over the threefold Dutch champions.
• The Austrian champions have also successfully started the Austrian DenizBank Volleyball League with three victories in a row, thus pushing the self-confidence of the young Austrian players as well as rising the expectations for the home match against the Dutch opponent.
• The home team has a very passionate and enthusiastic audience in Klagenfurt that will definitely quake the hall as they did in previous Champions League home matches. The organisers therefore expect a full hall with more than 2,000 fans in attendance for the match with the Dutch champions where a triumph is within reach.
• Posojilnica AICH/DOB are hoping for their fourth victory in Europe’s elite competition by beating Abiant Lycurgus, which would be leading to one of the greatest achievements in the club’s whole history.
“The players of the Dutch team are highly experienced, still, I am confident that with the support of our fans we will be able to play at the level which is required to edge past an opponent such as Abiant Lycurgus,” summarises head coach Matjaž Hafner.
“The city of Klagenfurt as well as all sports enthusiasts from the region of Carinthia shall not miss this opportunity to join a great Volleyball night where it is definitely possible to reach the 2nd Round of the Champions League,” says AICH/DOB Sports Director Martin Micheu.
Vojvodina NS Seme NOVI SAD (SRB) vs. Mladost ZAGREB (CRO)
• The Serbian champions emerged victorious from the first battle between these two teams in five sets.
• Outside-spiker on Lazaro Reydel FUNDORA TRAVIESO is the first Cuban player ever to play in Serbia and he will make his Champions League debut on Wednesday in the shirt of NOVI SAD.
• The entrance to the game is free, but this sport event will have a humanitarian side to it. Visitors will have the opportunity to donate and help Konstantin Jankovic. Konstantin has cerebral palsy, and robotic neurorehabilitation is effective for the rehabilitation of the functional skills, allowing him for greater autonomy and a better quality of life. The Volleyball Club Vojvodina wants to help him to go to rehabilitation as soon as possible. On Wednesday, Konstantin and his mother will be the guests of honour in the match against Mladost.
“We played a great game there, especially the first part and at the end. We had the opportunity to finish the match 3-0, but it is important that we showed composure; in the fifth set we played well and won. On Wednesday it will be difficult and therefore we have to play even better and better in order to achieve the goal. I saw new quality, progress in the game in block and defence, and I look forward to the match against Mladost with optimism. On this occasion I invite all fans to support us, fill the stadium and be part of a real party,” said Slobodan Boskan, Team Manager of Vojvodina at the press conference anticipating the home match.
“Before the match in Zagreb, and especially after that, I said that everything will be resolved in the second match, regardless of the result. This is not a phrase, but a fact, and many times it has been confirmed. In this double fixture there are six points at stake, we took two, Mladost one, we need two more, but we do not have to think about it. If you play making such calculations, you can get revenge, you have to win,” said Dusko Nikolic, head coach of Vojvodina NS Seme NOVI SAD.
“Nothing is over. All players are healthy and ready to look for a chance in another game,” said Radovan Malevic, head coach of Mladost ZAGREB.
Lindemans AALST (BEL) vs. CV TERUEL (ESP)
• The match-up on Wednesday will be the first ever CEV Champions League fixture played at the Sportcentrum Schotte.
• Lindemans AALST won their first national league match 3-0 over MENEN.
• The home team ended the Belgian Championship last year with the bronze medals around their necks.
• Fredrik Gustavsson, who is on the roster for Lindemans AALST, can make his first international club team cap ever.
• CV TERUEL are the reigning Spanish national champions.
• Last week, the Spaniards won the first clash between these teams in straight sets.
“We certainly have a chance to reach the second round if we show the same drive to win we showed against MENEN,” said Johan Devoghel, head coach of Lindemans AALST.
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