12/01/2015 14:50
Big match coming up in CEV Cup quarterfinals between Italian Panthers and Poland’s Atomic girls
2015 CEV Volleyball Cup - Women
Conegliano/Treviso, Italy, January 12, 2015. After losing their last match in Italy’s national league to Unendo Yamamay BUSTO ARSIZIO, Prosecco Doc-Imoco CONEGLIANO will resume their European campaign hosting on Wednesday, January 14, Poland’s PGE Atom Trefl SOPOT in the first round of the CEV Volleyball Cup quarter-finals.
In the previous rounds the Italian ‘Panthers’ as they are nicknamed by their fans edged past Ukraine’s Khimik YUZHNY and Nova KBM Branik MARIBOR of Slovenia. This time around their task will be much tougher since SOPOT are one of the pre-favourite teams to fight for the title in this year’s CEV Volleyball Cup. The roster of SOPOT includes, among others, also middle blocker Zuzanna Efimienko who two years ago spent some months in Italy playing for CONEGLIANO. On the other hand, two of the major stars of the home side, Alisha Glass and Neriman Özsoy, will be playing their former team as they spent one season in Sopot a couple of years ago. CONEGLIANO’s current head coach Nicola Negro spent two years with Trefl, winning also the Polish national league, and his assistant Rossano Bertocco was also a member of the Polish coaching staff at that time. Negro has also worked alongside Lorenzo Micelli, the Italian mentor who is currently at the helm of the team from SOPOT.
The match with Trefl will be a good test for the ‘Panthers’ who last year made the Playoffs 12 of the CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League and this season are vying for more glory on the European stage. The return match will then follow on January 22 at Ergo Arena in Gdansk-Sopot.
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