25/07/2015 00:00
Belarusian players determined to delight fans in European League home debut
2015 CEV Volleyball European League - Men
Brest, Belarus, July 24, 2015. After two losses in the away matches with Romania from last week in Craiova, the players of Belarus men’s national team mentored by Victor Sidelnikov are very motivated to give the home crowd something to cheer about as on Saturday and Sunday they host Pool B leaders Slovenia for their first home matches in the 2015 edition of the CEV Volleyball European League. Slovenia currently tops the charts in Pool B with maximum 12 points from four matches while Belarus has only three at this stage.
Two home wins in the matchups with Slovenia are mandatory for Belarus if they want to stay in contention for a spot in the Final Four tournament which is due to take place on August 13-14 in Walbrzych, Poland. On top of this, these matches to be played in Brest are a good rehearsal for the ‘big one’ that will follow on October 9 in Varna when Belarus and Slovenia will be crossing their ways once again on the opening day of the 2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Men.
“This is the very first time that the men’s national team of Belarus is performing here in Brest. Since we haven’t played in such big hall so far, we have taken some time to adjust to the conditions available here. We’ll be playing at home and are very determined to win. However, it is necessary to concentrate and start well in the first set with Slovenia, and I am confident that the fans will be enjoying a great fight,” says home mentor Victor Sidelnikov.
Slovenia’s mentor, legendary Volleyball player Andrea Giani, hopes that his team’s winning streak will continue also in the matches with Belarus. “We got maximum points from our matches with Turkey and Croatia. We understand that we have a chance to achieve something more in Brest, but we also know that Belarus played some very good matches with Croatia and Romania in the previous rounds. We know the value of the hosts but we will be trying to achieve a good result also in order to keep our leadership in the Pool.”
The first match starring Belarus and Slovenia is scheduled for Saturday at 20:00 local time and the remake will then follow on Sunday at 19:00 once again at Viktoriya sports hall in Brest.
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