31/03/2017 13:49
Dinamo KAZAN hopeful they can make amends for Turkish setback
2017 CEV Volleyball Cup - Women
Kazan, Russia, March 31, 2017. After suffering a heavy loss at the hands of Galatasaray ISTANBUL this past Tuesday in Turkey, Dinamo KAZAN will be hosting on Sunday the rematch of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Cup – Women semis vying for a 3-0 or 3-1 home win in order to play an all-deciding Golden Set.
Dinamo KAZAN had routed all of their opponents in the previous rounds of the competition – VK UP OLOMOUC, ZOK Bimal-Jedinstvo BRČKO and Vizura BEOGRAD – but the Russians knew that the semi-final matches with Galatasaray ISTANBUL would be a different story. Out of 36 teams participating in this year’s CEV Cup, only four are still ‘alive’ and as a result, the competition has become extremely fierce – almost at the same level of what Dinamo would have found in the elite CEV Volleyball Champions League.
Dinamo KAZAN have to cope with a very demanding schedule – as they are also playing the semis of the Russian national league at this stage of the season. The Tatars are playing Uralochka-NTMK EKATERINBURG for a spot in the final of their national championship and the team coached by Nikolay Karpol has proven a hard nut to crack – as they showed in their Champions League matches with powerhouses such as VakifBank and Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL earlier this season as well.
After playing an exhausting match with Uralochka, which lasted for five sets, Dinamo KAZAN flew to Istanbul and they paid a high price for their fatigue – losing in three sets the first round of the CEV Cup semis with Galatasaray. However, since at least two sets were close affairs, Dinamo KAZAN remain confident that they can make amends for that setback when playing the rematch on home soil on Sunday, April 2.
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