10/03/2015 15:45
NANTES VB rely on home crowd to edge past Russian giant Dinamo KRASNODAR
2015 CEV Volleyball Cup - Women
Nantes, France, March 10, 2015. France’s NANTES VB – a real rookie in the European Cups – will be trying to add another chapter to their success story on Thursday night once they host Russia’s giant Dinamo KRASNODAR for the re-match on schedule for the Challenge Round of the 2015 CEV Volleyball Cup – Women. Last week Dinamo powered to an easy 3:0 home win to get the right edge in the fight for a spot in the semis.
“We have been working really hard in order to be ready to provide such world-class opponent with some resistance,” the mentor of NANTES VB, Sylvain Quinquis (pictured), says. “It is going to be very difficult but I think we still can make the semis even though our situation got more complicated because we are going to miss some key players for this re-match.”
Quinquis is determined to deliver another real show also to delight the passionate home crowd that has been so supportive of his team since the beginning of their European adventure. “I am very happy with what we have achieved so far this season,” he explains. “We were able to achieve one of our main goals, which is to mobilise the energy that is required by such high-level competition. This first experience in the European Cups has been rewarding the club for its efforts and we could see that we continue to progress. It was also a terrific opportunity for our young players who have been able to play against opponents of the highest calibre.”
The team captain of NANTES VB, Sherri Williams, admits that last week’s match in Russia was a difficult one for many reasons. “I hope we can move on and improve after the difficulties we got to experience last week,” she says. “The team is focused and our only goal is to reach out for a home victory. The participation in this year’s Champions League and CEV Cup confirmed that glory does not depend only on winning or losing, it comes from playing and competing passionately even when the odds are against you. It was great to play in the Champions League and I hope that the club and my teammates will have another chance to enter this competition in the near future.”
The team captain of Dinamo KRASNODAR, Russia’s Volleyball icon Liubov Shashkova (Sokolova), explains that her team has had a long journey from Russia to Nantes. They got up at 3am and arrived in France late in the evening. On Wednesday they will have their first practice and after that it will be time for a video session to scout their opponents. “We know NANTES VB very well and we won the first match quite easily, however we know that this re-match is going to be a tough one especially as they are playing before the home crowd. The atmosphere is going to be quite hot on Thursday night. However, I believe that we can win again and we can move on to the semis of the CEV Volleyball Cup.”
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