Luxembourg, January 24, 2020.  SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN produced an incredible performance from the serving line to highlight this week’s first-leg eighthfinal matches in the women’s CEV Cup and CEV Challenge Cup. In just four sets of play, the German squad hammered out as many as 19 aces to edge ahead of Finland’s HÄMEENLINNA before the return game at home in Schwerin.

CEV Cup

22-year-old Dutch opposite Nicole Oude Luttikhuis was the best server in CEV Cup action this week, delivering six of SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN’s 19 aces towards the 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-20, 25-16) away win at HÄMEENLINNA. On the other side of the net, Karoliina Friberg excelled from the serving line as well, with five direct points for the home team.

Olena Lymareva became the best scorer of the week as she piled up as many as 31 points towards the 3-2 (19-25, 25-18, 18-25, 25-21, 15-12) home victory for Hungary’s Fatum NYIREGYHAZA over Croatia’s Mladost ZAGREB. The visiting side became one of two teams in the CEV Cup to score the weekly high of 12 blocks.


Fatum’s Lymareva spikes above Mladost’s block

The other one was Asterix Avo BEVEREN whose team won the only other five-setter in this leg of the competition, a 3-2 (25-19, 21-25, 21-25, 25-23, 16-14) away victory in the all-Belgian clash with Hermes Rekkenshop OOSTENDE.

Anna Danesi was the highest scoring individual blocker of the week. She achieved five stuffs in just three sets which her team Saugella MONZA played in Russia. However, hosts Dinamo KAZAN celebrated with an emphatic 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-19) victory over their Italian visitors.

The remaining four games also ended in straight sets, with Poland’s Grupa Azoty Chemik POLICE, France’s Volero LE CANNET, Belarus’s Minchanka MINSK and Italy’s Unet e-work BUSTO ARSIZIO snatching home victories over Spain’s Sanaya Libby’s LA LAGUNA, Switzerland’s TS Volley DÜDINGEN, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s ZOK Bimal-Jedinstvo BRČKO and Poland’s Developres SkyRes RZESZÓW, respectively.



Challenge Cup

Following the withdrawal of Turkey’s Beylikduzu Voleybol ISTANBUL, Austria’s Askö LINZ-STEG became the first team to secure a spot in the Challenge Cup quarterfinals. Another team from the Turkish megalopolis is well on their way to becoming Askö’s next opponent, as THY ISTANBUL hammered out an emphatic 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-18) victory at Romania’s C.S.M. LUGOJ. Czech opposite Aneta Kocmanova Havlickova excelled in that game with a total of 26 points, of which five blocks towards a team total of 14.

Cuban opposite Yaremis Mendaro Leyva became the week’s best scorer in the Challenge Cup as she tallied 28 points for her Greek team AO THIRAS Santorini, but over the span of the only five-set match of the leg. Hosts Kanti SCHAFFHAUSEN of Switzerland managed a 3-2 (25-15, 17-25, 25-23, 19-25, 16-14) victory with the help of 13 stuff blocks, five of which courtesy of Kateřina Holásková. Yaremis Mendaro Leyva also excelled from the serving line piling up as many as seven aces, the most of anybody in this week’s European Cups first-leg eighthfinals.


Yaremis Mendaro Leyva of AO THIRAS Santorini attacks against Kanti SCHAFFHAUSEN

German outside spiker Dora Grozer impressed with six aces, but this individual achievement also proved insufficient for her Swiss team Sm'AESCH Pfeffingen as they lost to hosts Ladies in Black AACHEN of Germany in four sets – 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-21). Maja Storck delivered five of her team’s 13 aces, this week’s high in the Challenge Cup.

Olympiacos PIRAEUS shared the week’s best blocking team with THY matching the 14 stuffs in their 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-18) away win at Russia’s Yenisei KRASNOYARSK. Regan Hood Scott and Katerina Zakchaiou scored five winning blocks apiece for the Greek side. So did Natalia Nazarova for the home team.

Germany’s DRESDNER SC and France’s BEZIERS VB pleased their home fans with straight-set wins over Romania’s Stiinta BACAU and Finland’s Pölkky KUUSAMO, respectively, while Hungary’s Swietelsky BEKESCSABA delivered an away shutout of Slovenia’s Calcit Volley KAMNIK.



The return eighthfinal matches in both tournaments are scheduled for February 4, 5 or 6.

For more info, go to the CEV Cup 2020 and the CEV Challenge Cup 2020 sections.