27/01/2015 09:22
Polish underdogs long for first victory as they bid farewell to CL
2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women
Wroclaw, Poland, January 27, 2014. Poland’s rookies Impel WROCLAW will be trying to notch their first victory in the 2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women when they host Volero ZÜRICH of Switzerland on Wednesday for the last round of play in Pool D.
There is not that much time for recovery after Impel played on Monday their last match in the ORLEN Liga cruising to a straight-set victory over Aluprof BIELSKO-BIALA (25-14, 25-19, 25-21). The players of Impel may be tired but they are in good shape at this stage of the season. They just won two straight matches in the national league and took one set in their away match with Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL from last week. This is indeed remarkable since the Turks are among the favourites to claim the title of this year’s Champions League and this feat stands as a good omen for the upcoming match with Volero.
The match is extremely important also for the Swiss champions who are still fighting for first place in Pool D. They have to edge past Impel WROCLAW but still this won’t be enough as they have to hope that Omichka OMSK REGION score a home victory in their match up with Eczacibasi VitrA.
The team captain of Impel, Joanna Kaczor, is in good shape and she just scored 12 points in the match with Aluprof. Agnieszka Kakolewska and Monika Ptak, Impel’s middle blockers, also performed strong in that same match as together they accounted for 11 points.
Though the adventure in Europe’s elite competition is coming to an end for Impel, this has been a terrific experience for the team that last season won their first medal – a silver – in the Polish national league in 28 years. The man behind this success story is Norwegian mentor Tore Aleksandersen who says: “We can play without pressure, so I hope that we will enjoy the game. The support of our fans will be extremely important on Wednesday night.”
Impel WROCLAW have a record of 12 wins and five losses this season in the ORLEN Liga whilst Volero have swept 15 straight matches in the Swiss NLA dropping only six sets along the way.
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