Club Volleyball

New faces aim to disrupt the order in the #CLVolleyW

Feature

Article Tue, Oct 29 2024
Author: Adrian Costeiu

The 20 participating teams in the 4th round of the new season in the CEV Champions League Women are ready to start their journey in the European premium competition. But between some former winners and familiar faces, there are also teams which will make their debuts, as well as sides which are returning after a lengthy absence.

Four of the 20 teams, or 20% of the sides lining up at the start, will make their debuts, while for other teams, like Mladost Zagreb or BKS Bostik ZGO Bielsko-Biała, this will be their first appearance in the CEV Champions League Women in more than a decade. But let’s find out who’s who between the teams in this category.

French women’s voleyball has been a constant presence in the European premium competition over the last years, but this time around, a new face will represent the country in the CEV Champions League Women, after securing their maiden title in history in the domestic league. 

Founded in 2003, Levallois Paris Saint-Cloud was formerly known as Union Stade français - Saint-Cloud Paris and Stade français Paris Saint-Cloud, but has never made it to the final of the French league until the previous season, when they ended up on the second place in the regular season.

This time around, they took two wins against fellow French side Neptunes de Nantes, 3:0 and 3:1, in the final, securing their maiden domestic title. With plenty of talent at their disposal, the first Parisian team to play in the European premium competition is ready to pounce and deliver some excellent performances in Pool B, where they will play against SSC Palmberg Schwerin, Tent Obrenovac and Eczacibasi Dynavit Istanbul.

In fact, Pool B has another rookie in the competition, the Serbian side Tent Obrenovac, a side founded in 1981, which has been constantly aiming to promote youngsters and deliver good results in the domestic league. 

However, the odds are stacked against the Serbian side, after they were eliminated last season in the Last 16 phase of the CEV Challenge Cup Women by Romanian side CSM Lugoj, 0:3 and 0:3, while also finishing second in the Serbian league, winning only two sets in three matches against champions Jedinstvo Stara Pazova. With a roster mainly formed with young Serbian players, Tent Obrenovac will have their work cut out in the new season of the CEV Champions League Women.

Another debutant in the competition will be Portuguese champions FC Porto. They qualified in the 4th round of the new season of the CEV Champions League Women after clinching two wins in the Qualification Round against Spanish side CV Hidramar Gran Canaria, 3:2 and 3:0.

Their European experience is also limited, with Porto being eliminated in the Last 16 of the CEV Cup Women in the previous season, after two hard-fought matches against French side Beziers Volley, with a 3:2 win on their home court, but a 1:3 loss in the second leg, which saw Beziers advance to the quarter-finals.

Porto have been drawn into Pool C, where they face last season’s runners-up, Numia Vero Volley Milano, six-time champions VakifBank Istanbul and Calcit Kamnik, making their job even harder to advance for the next phase.

Last, but not least, the fourth debutant in this season of the CEV Champions League Women is Romanian champion, C.S.O. Voluntari 2005. Hailing from a suburb of capital Bucharest, Voluntari took the world by storm and delivered a fantastic performance in the domestic league last season, after several years of trying to contend for the title.

Coach Giovanni Caprara left and was replaced by another Italian head coach, Stefano Saja, who led the team to their most succesful season. Voluntari were also in the CEV Challenge Cup Women, being eliminated in the quarter-finals by champions Igor Gorgonzola Novara, which took two wins, 3:1 and 3:0.

After eliminating Rabotnicki Skopje, with two 3:0 wins, in the Qualifying Round, Voluntari will be heading to Pool E this season, where they are due to face two powerhouses in Allianz MTV Stuttgart and Savino del Bene Scandicci, plus a team which will return after a lengthy absence, BKS Bostik ZGO Bielsko-Biała.

BKS Bostik ZGO Bielsko-Biała, which finished third in the Polish league last season, will make their fifth appearance in the CEV Champions League Women, and their first since 2010/11.

Another side which will return after a long absence, 18 seasons, is Mladost Zagreb. The Croatian side will also play for the fifth time in the European premium competition, and are still looking for their maiden win, after conceding 26 losses in 26 matches, winning only two sets.

#CLVolleyW