31/10/2018 10:00
STUTTGART, Budowlani and MULHOUSE two sets away from #CLVolleyW 3rd Round
2019 CEV Volleyball Champions League - Women
Luxembourg, October 31, 2018. Three tickets to the 3rd Round of the 2019 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Women will be at stake on Wednesday night with Germany’s Allianz MTV STUTTGART, France’s ASPTT MULHOUSE VB and Poland’s Budowlani ŁÓDŹ all hoping to capitalise on the away victories they claimed last week. These teams need to take at least two sets from their respective fixtures with opponents from the Netherlands, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary to secure their progression to Round 3 of Europe’s elite club competition. Live streaming of all matches is available on LAOLA1.tv; follow the CEV social media channels for regular updates under the official hashtag #CLVolleyW!
Allianz MTV STUTTGART (GER) vs. SLIEDRECHT Sport (NED)
• Outside spiker Sarah Wilhite, as the last player joining the STUTTGART team after the FIVB World Championships where she represented USA will make her first appearance with the German team.
• For STUTTGART, this is the first home match of the 2018/2019 season, where they are aiming for the maximum result in a total of three different competitions: CEV Champions League, national league (after four silver medals in a row) and national cup.
• Just three days later, STUTTGART will be hosting DRESDNER SC in the Round of the 16 in the national cup competition.
• For five players it is the first home match to meet the unbelievably powerful crowd of Stuttgart: Roosa Koskelo (libero), Krystal Rivers (opposite), Jana-Franziska Poll (outside spiker), Madison Bugg (Setter) and Sarah Wilhite (outside spiker).
• With Flore Gravesteijn, the Stuttgart-fans are very happy to welcome a former player of their favourite team back in the SCHARRena. The outside spiker was part of the German team when they won their first title ever, the national cup in 2011. Flore spent two seasons in Stuttgart (2010/2011, 2011/2012) before joining VDK GENT Dames with whom she won the Belgian national league in 2013. After that, she played in France and Italy and is now back in Sliedrecht, where she played prior to her time in Stuttgart.
Kim Renkema, Sports Director of Allianz MTV STUTTGART: “In our away game in Sliedrecht we saw many good things but also some other things that we have to work on. I hope we can show a more balanced game. I am happy that it will be the first game where we are complete as a team. This will be a very important match just before our so important weekend. I expect that the opponent will be fighting for every point with much determination. They are young and willing to fight. We have to show our best game in order to beat this team, to go into next round, to show our fans what they are coming for and to prepare in the best way for our important match in the national cup competition just three days later. I cannot wait that the doors of SCHARRena open again for a new season. It is finally game time!”
Ioannis Athanasopoulos, head coach of Allianz MTV STUTTGART: “I expect my team will be showing the same concentration we had in Sliedrecht so that we fight for every ball, try to improve our game and become better as a team with each match. I think that we have to be very careful, because SLIEDRECHT is a very good team and they will come to Stuttgart to fight. It will be our first game with a full team and we are looking forward to it. It has been a long time since the end of April and everybody in the team wants to feel the positive vibes of the SCHARRena and its unique fans again.”
Vera Koenen, head coach of SLIEDRECHT Sport: “We are looking forward to the match in Stuttgart and we will fight again against this top team, which enables us to further develop the level of our own game.”
Ana Rekar, setter of SLIEDRECHT Sport: “We are really looking forward to the great ambiance in the SCHARRrena. We loved playing against STUTTGART the first time, so let us hope for an even better second match. I cannot wait to fight again!”
ASPTT MULHOUSE (FRA) vs. ZOK Bimal-Jedinstvo BRČKO (BIH)
• ASPTT MULHOUSE VB historically claimed the 2016-2017 edition of the French national league.
• They finished third in the last edition of the French championship, thus qualifying for the 2019 CEV Volleyball Champions League together with BEZIERS VB and RC CANNES.
• Greek setter Athina Papafotiou, who contributed to that historic success in 2017, has returned to Mulhouse. The roster of the French team has not changed much compared to last year.
• ASPTT MULHOUSE VB started the national league season with a 3-0 victory.
• The French team claimed a 3-1 away victory last week in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a result, they need to take two sets from the re-match at home to progress to the next round.
Magali Magail, head coach of ASPTT MULHOUSE VB: “We hope to confirm our result from the first leg when playing a team which defends a lot and has a good service.”
Raymariely Santos, setter of ASPTT MULHOUSE VB: “I expect a difficult match but we are prepared to fight and to win in front of our fans.”
Alexandra Frantti, outside spiker of ASPTT MULHOUSE VB: “We get ready to give everything in this match and to put a lot of energy in our game.”
Zana Dragutinovic, captain of ZOK Bimal-Jedinstvo BRČKO: “We are about to start our journey to France and we are all looking forward to the upcoming match. We hope to play the entire match as we played the last two sets in the previous match back home in Pale. We are ready to give our maximum and our hopes are to make it to the Golden Set. If we make it to the Golden Set, in my opinion, our chances to win are equal.”
Budowlani ŁÓDŹ (POL) vs. Swietelsky BÉKÉSCSABA (HUN)
• Last Sunday, Budowlani ŁÓDŹ claimed the 2018 edition of the Polish Super Cup after edging reigning national champions Chemik POLICE. This result accounts for the second Polish Super Cup title in a row for Budowlani. The best player of that match was Budowlani’s superstar, Serbian-born opposite Jovana Brakočević-Canzian.
• The matchup with Swietelsky BÉKÉSCSABA will be taking place at the newly built Sport Arena in Lodz. Only the 2018 Polish Super Cup and some sparring / training sessions of Budowlani have taken place there this far.
• Last season, Budowlani claimed the bronze medal from the Polish national league, Polish Cup and Polish Super Cup. As a result, the team stood on the podium of all three domestic competitions.
• Budowlani ŁÓDŹ are participating in the CEV Volleyball Champions League for the third time in their history. The Polish club made their debut in the 2010/2011 season but failed to progress to the Playoffs. Last season, the team from Lodz did not make it through a very competitive Pool D featuring Dinamo MOSCOW, Galatasaray SK ISTANBUL and eventual gold medal winners VakifBank ISTANBUL.
• The team has participated in the CEV Cup two times, i.e. in the 2010/2011 and 2016/2017 seasons. Back in 2016/2017, they reached the quarterfinals of Europe’s second most prestigious club competition.
Femke Stoltenborg, setter of Budowlani ŁÓDŹ: “The match will be an important and interesting one, because both teams know more about each other this time. They are a good team and I think we can improve in defence and in the way that we put pressure on them. I am excited to play them again and especially to do so in front of our home crowd!”
Gabriela Polańska, captain and middle blocker of Budowlani ŁÓDŹ: “We are ready for the second matchup with the Hungarians. The match in Hungary was filled with emotions, and it was a rather nervous one because it was our first official match this season. In this match, we will certainly be calmer; we will approach the game with a cool head, showing respect for the opponent but also with a lot of confidence. In addition to that, our supporters will stay behind us, as they did on Sunday with the Super Cup match. I believe that we will be able to defeat the team from Hungary and make it to the next stage of the Champions League. I invite all fans to Sport Arena, so that they can help us claim another victory.”
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