Ekaterinburg, Russia, March 26, 2014. The 2014 season of the CEV Volleyball Cup - Women is coming to a close this week with only the two legs of the final encounter between Russia’s Uralochka-NTMK EKATERINBURG and Turkey’s Fenerbahce SK. ISTANBUL left to play. Upon a successful European campaign so far, both teams are ready for the dessert – winning the desired trophy.
The first match at the DIVS Uralochka competition hall in Ekaterinburg is scheduled for today, March 26, at 18:30 local time (13:30 CET). On the eve of this clash, the head coach of the home team Nikolai Karpol called the opponent “the national team of the world”, referring to the amazing constellation of players around his Italian counterpart Marcello Abbondanza. As Fenerbahce went as far as the final of the previous edition of the CEV Cup, but unexpectedly could not reach the trophy, now the Turkish team will be looking for amends and is expected to face Uralochka with full motivation to win.
At the same time, the Russian side will also come out on the Volleyball court on a quest for revenge, as it was namely Fenerbahce that eliminated Uralochka from the tournament last season. After exchanging straight-set home victories in their semifinal duel, Fenerbahce eventually beat Uralochka in the golden set in Russia by 15-11 to move on to the final.
Uralochka prepared for this important encounter with a convincing 3:0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-23) domestic league win at home against another finalist of this season’s European Cups – Zarechie ODINTSOVO, who is about to face Besiktas ISTANBUL in the Russian-Turkish battle for the 2014 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup - Women. Meanwhile, Fenerbahce was successful against city rivals and participants in the Final Four of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Women from Eczacibasi VitrA by claiming a dramatic 3:2 (25-21, 25-27, 25-22, 16-25, 25-23) victory in their Acibadem Ligi match.
By all means, the fans who are expected to flock to the competition hall in Ekaterinburg today are in for a real Volleyball treat. The home heroines are really counting on their supporters to be Uralochka’s eighth player on the court. The club has invited the local fans to the stands dressed in green and promised rewards to the most creative ones. They will also be able to participate in some games, such as virtual Volleyball, and get the Uralochka mascot, the Lizard, painted on their faces.
Photo from the match between Uralochka and Zarechie