Calcit Volley Ready to take on Viking TIF Bergen in the Challenge Cup

Calcit Volley is gearing up for their first European Challenge Cup matches. Mladen Kašić and his team are looking forward to facing the Norwegian team Viking TIF Bergen. The first match is scheduled for Wednesday, November 1st, with the return leg taking place the following day, both at 7:00 PM in the Kamnik sports hall.

As the last of the four Slovenian teams in the Challenge Cup, Calcit Volley will play their first match on Wednesday. So far, only Panvita Pomgrad has advanced to the first round of the Challenge Cup, defeating Cypriot Omonia from Nicosia in a thrilling golden set. The first match ended in a 3:2 victory for Panvita Pomgrad in Puconci, while the Cypriots claimed the second day. The golden set, as mentioned, went to Dejan Fujs' proteges. Merkur Maribor and Hiša na kolesih Triglav were left empty-handed at home on Wednesday.

"We're still waiting for the video footage of their gameplay, so we don't have any information about the Norwegian team. Perhaps the fact that they wanted both matches to be played at our venue says a lot, but we can't rely solely on that. We can't afford to forget about it," warns Mladen Kašić, the coach of the Kamnik volleyball team.

Viking TIF Bergen is also an unknown entity to this year's Kamnik addition, Uroš Nikolić. "We'll find out what kind of team they are, how they play, and at what level on Monday. I'm confident we'll prepare well for that," assures Nikolić, who has proven to be a significant addition to the Kamnik team in the early part of the season. If they win the first round of the Challenge Cup, they will face the Polish team Projekt Varšava.

"First, we have to eliminate the Norwegians, then face Alpacem Kanal away, followed by ACH Volley at home, which will be the most serious test for our team in the first part of the season. Only after that will we consider the Polish team. It's not that we're afraid of them, but there's still a lot of time until those matches. The point is that all games are equally important, with the most crucial one being the one right in front of us," Kašić emphasized.

Viking TIF Bergen is the reigning Norwegian champion, led by Canadian Scott Olsen, who was the head coach in the previous season and also served as an assistant. He has even led the Norwegian under-21 national team. This is a very young team consisting of Norwegian players only, with their oldest player being 27-year-old Jonas Vindedal Langlo. In the current season, they have played two matches in the Norwegian league, losing 0:3 in the first round to Frode and winning 3:1 against NTNUI in the second round.