10/12/2019 14:00
SAAREMAA VC to start CEV Challenge Cup journey against Hapoel KFAR SABA
CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup 2020 - Men
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Kuressaare, Estonia, December 10, 2019. SAAREMAA VC are looking forward to starting another exciting journey in the CEV Challenge Cup where they face Hapoel Yoav KFAR SABA from Israel in the 16th Finals.
Hapoel is a club with a lot of history and achievements as they won silver in the Israeli national league last season and are vying for all domestic honours this year. Hapoel have been playing in the European Cups for as many as 10 seasons.
Interesting fact – last year Hapoel reached the quarterfinals in the Challenge Cup where their journey ended against Stade Poitevin POITIERS of France. The French team had beaten SAAREMAA VC earlier in the competition.
This season, the Estonians are leading the way in the Credit24 Champions League (cross-national Estonian – Latvian league), while Hapoel sit in second place in their national competition in Israel. Both are hoping to advance to the next round in the Challenge Cup.
“We need to avoid big ups and downs if we want to advance. There is not much room to correct your mistakes in the European Cups as two matches decide everything. It is also very important to play well on home soil, as we will have a full house supporting us. After that, we will have a chance also in Israel. Hapoel is a good team with a good opposite and strong outside hitters. We are definitely trying to make it through this round,” said Urmas Tali, head coach of SAAREMAA VC.
Club manager Hannes Sepp added: “Of course, we hope to advance from this round, but the club has set an even bigger goal – to reach the quarterfinals. We need to take it step by step, but these are our goals. I think people in Saaremaa deserve to see as many international matches as possible and we want to give them these games as a “thank you” for always supporting us.”
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