Play-offs and quarter-finals qualified teams decided in the CLVolleyW

After 60 intense matches, Round 4 of the CEV Champions League 2024 Women is now done and dusted, with 11 teams progressing to the next phase of the competition, the knock-out rounds, which will deliver the two teams due to face off in the Super Finals this spring.

There were not necessarily big surprises coming into the knock-out rounds, but both of last season’s finalists, Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Istanbul and VakifBank Istanbul, failed to secure the first place in their pools, therefore going into the play-offs, with an added layer of unpredictability in their challenge for the trophy.

The five group winners went directly to the quarter-finals, as the third Turkish side in the competition, Fenerbahçe Opet Istanbul, were the best team in Round 4, winning six matches in a row, without dropping a set on their way to clinch the first place in Pool C.

All three Italian teams – A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano, Savino del Bene Scandicci and Allianz Vero Volley Milano – secured the first place in their group and went directly into the quarter-finals, with the first two sides ending the competition with six wins in six matches, while Milano dropped their last match, 2:3, against VakifBank Istanbul.

Vero Volley Milano’s quarter-finals pairing is set now, as the Italian powerhouse will face the fifth best group winners, Polish side ŁKS Commercecon Łódź, who sealed their place in dramatic fashion, with a 3:2 win over Volero Le Cannet in the last match of Round 4.

The reigning champions, VakifBank, also had to navigate through the play-offs last season on their way to the title and will now face the best third-placed side in Round 4, PGE Rysice Rzeszów, after the Turkish powerhouse finished second in Pool A, with two points less than Allianz Vero Volley Milano.

Dropping both matches against Savino del Bene Scandicci, Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Istanbul will also head to the play-offs, where they will be overwhelming favourites against Ukrainian side SC "Prometey" Dnipro. With two 3:1 wins over Le Cannet and Alba Blaj in their last two matches, Dnipro finished second in their pool, but will face a stern challenge in the play-offs.

The other play-offs tie will be an all-German derby, as a German side will surely qualify to the quarter-finals, after SC Potsdam and Allianz MTV Stuttgart will rekindle their rivalry from the domestic league in the European premium competition, as the winners head to a heavyweight clash against Fenerbahce in the quarter-finals.

The play-offs will take place in a doubleheader, with the first leg being played in the last week of January and the second scheduled for the first week of February.