Zurich, Switzerland, November 13, 2014. Swiss champions Volero ZURICH swept through Impel WROCLAW by 3:0 (25-19, 25-9, 25-20) and celebrated a perfect start of the 2015 CEV DenizBank Champions League - Women season. Last year's Champions League top scorer Olesia Rykhliuk and returnee Brankica Mihajlovic led the hosts to the victory with 16 points each.
The 2015 Champions League is a special one for both teams. The Swiss champions and big favourites in this opening game want to qualify for the Final Four after last year’s fallout in the Playoff 6 against the reigning champions from Dinamo KAZAN, whereas the Polish runners-up made their first ever appearance in the Champions League and were hungry to prove that they deserved to play in Europe’s best club competition.
The two teams started strong into the first set. The spectators in the Saalsporthalle in Zurich could enjoy a high-level volleyball game. Volero’s returnee Brankica Mihajlovic, however, made the difference and led the Swiss champions with six important points to the 25-19 win. Volero kept the pace high in the second set and apparently caught Impel on the wrong foot. The Polish runners-up immediately fell behind by 1-9. Impel’s Tore Aleksandersen tried to bring his team back into the game, but the burden remained too heavy. The hosts dominated over the Polish team with their extremely effective offensive game; so it was no surprise when USA's international Natalie Hagglund closed the set with 25-9 on the scoreboard. The Polish, however, did not give in. Tore Aleksandersen wanted his team to fight till the very end and his players did their best. The newcomers in the Champions League improved their own game and faced up to the Swiss champions. The game remained tight until 21-18; but the big favourites from Zurich kept calm. Dragutin Baltic’s team steadily increased its lead and won the third and already decisive set by 25-20.
Volero's assistant coach Jan Lindenmair: “This opening game against Impel was an important one for our team. We wanted to get into our rhythm. We have to keep it up and focus on the next game in Omsk. As our pool is extremely strong this year, we need every point we can get.”
Volero's captain Courtney Thompson: “I could not have imagined a better start of the Champions League. We took advantage of our strong offensive game. To be setter in a team with so many passing opportunities as I have is just a dream. However, we have to keep our pace high in training.”
Impel's coach Tore Aleksandersen: “I am a little bit disappointed. We did not want to get nervous against Volero today, but as the Swiss put pressure on us we started to struggle. I think the reason for this loss is our lack of experience and we had to pay dearly for it.”
Impel's captain Joanna Kaczor: “We had big problems with Volero's strong passing game today. We expected a tough match and wanted to prove our fighting spirit, but could not react. We have to analyse now what went wrong today and improve ourselves.”
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