07/11/2016 11:03
Hypo Tirol eager to delight home crowd in effort to move on to third round
2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League - Men
Innsbruck, Austria, November 7, 2016. After their 3-1 away victory over Israel’s Hapoel MATE-ASHER AKKO, the reigning Austrian champions of Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK are eager to perform in front of their home crowd on Wednesday, November 9, and are determined to claim the re-match as well in order to progress to the third round of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men.
Hypo Tirol head coach Daniel Gavan said: “We made a big step to successfully go through the second round with our away victory in Israel but we also understand that this was only the first game. It is up to us now to confirm our performance with a second win in front of our own fans and supporters. I expect Hapoel MATE-ASHER AKKO will come out strong and take lots of risks in their game. They will try everything to come back after the defeat and we will have to be prepared for that. I was satisfied with our game in Israel and I am optimistic that we can perform even better at home. We go into the re-match of the second round with the advantage of having won the first matchup, but we still have a tough game ahead of us. The players are fully focussed and motivated to finish the second round at home with a positive result and to move on to the third round of the competition.”
Austria’s national champions were happy to take a 3-1 win in the first matchup and are now preparing to host the Israeli team in the Olympic Hall in Innsbruck on Wednesday, November 9. After travelling home with three points from their 3-1 victory, Hypo Tirol will advance to the next round by taking two sets from their home match. The team around head coach Daniel Gavan is nevertheless aiming to record a victory also at home and not to settle for anything less than that.
It is the first time in history that Hypo Tirol are hosting a team from Israel and the local fans are already looking forward to witnessing this match and to pushing their home team to victory. After last year’s record-breaking attendance in Innsbruck, a large crowd is expected to flock to the Olympic Hall on Wednesday night.
The eventual winners of this double header will play Germany’s VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN in the third stage of Europe’s elite competition.
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