15/01/2018 11:00
Unbeaten Zaksa is hungry for more success
2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League - Men
Kedzierzyn-Kozle, Poland, January 15, 2018. Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE have not suffered any setback in the Polish national league and national cup in 287 days (!) and have swept 23 straight matches since they lost on April 1, 2017 to Asseco Resovia RZESZOW. On Saturday, Zaksa beat JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel 3-1 before a partisan home crowd to get ready for their third matchup in Pool E of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Men coming up on Wednesday against Noliko MAASEIK. Zaksa’s only setback on domestic soil has come back in September when they lost the Supercup to PGE Skra BELCHATOW at the very beginning of the current season.
“The match with JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel was a great test before the Champions League game with Noliko MAASEIK because again we could give the opportunity to play to some of the younger players like Rafal Szymura and Krzysztof Rejno, who showed themselves very well,” said Zaksa head coach Andrea Gardini.
“We have played a lot of matches with Noliko and it has never been a stroll so the main task for us should be to remain focussed from the very beginning of the clash,” added Zaksa President Sebastian Świderski.
For sure, it will be a match of a special importance for Sam Deroo - the Belgian national team captain who moved to Poland after starting his career at Knack ROESELARE - an eternal rival of Noliko, as he knows inside out his former colleagues now ready to fight on the other side of the net. A potential three-point win with Noliko would help Zaksa make it closer to promotion to the next phase of the Champions League but it surely will not be a cakewalk.
“We do not pay much attention to the records in the national league since for the time being we did not achieve anything significant in the ongoing season and we just strive for winning another match,” pointed out Zaksa libero Paweł Zatorski.
The organisers expect Wednesday’s encounter to gather a crowd of more than 2,000 fans.
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