25/02/2013 12:11
German rookie takes on Italian heavyweight in Challenge Cup semis
2013 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup - Women
Hamburg, Germany, February 25, 2013. Aurubis HAMBURG – though a real rookie in the European Cups – is the very last side from Germany still in contention for European glory and on Wednesday will play its first semifinal match with Rebecchi Nordmeccanica PIACENZA for the next-to-last round of action in the 2013 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup.
Even though they are seen as the underdog of this fixture, the Germans have swept all of their previous matches so far in the competition, pocketing a perfect record of eight wins since they embarked on this adventure this past November.
On the other side, PIACENZA initially played in the 2013 CEV Volleyball Cup quite surprisingly losing there in the first round to Kontynium VOLYN LUTSK of Ukraine. That was quite a shock because after losing 2:3 away and winning 3:0 at home, the Italians failed to seize the golden set and were hence relegated to the 2013 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup.
Rebecchi Nordmeccanica has since stepped up the quality of their game and quite easily got past France’s Rocheville LE CANNET in the 1/4 finals. While Germany’s Volleyball family looks forward to the final stage of the national cup coming up this weekend in Halle/Westphalen, the local fans in Hamburg are totally focused on Wednesday’s fixture at CU Arena and on the return game scheduled for Sunday, March 3, in Italy.
Aurubis will try to seize the night once more at home to get the right edge for the second match in Piacenza, thereby possibly leaving the door open for a golden set. The players mentored by head coach Helmut von Soosten hope many supporters will come together at CU Arena under the slogan worked out for this European campaign: “CU Arena: See you – Volleyball meets friends”. If team captain Imke Wedekind and her friends score a home win, PIACENZA will need to claim Sunday’s match as well as the golden set that would follow to get the right to challenge Russia’s Dinamo KRASNODAR or Finland’s LP SALO in the final.
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