BERLIN Recycling Volleys - TRENTINO Itas

• BERLIN Recycling Volleys and TRENTINO Itas faced each other six times before in the Champions League. The Italians won four times and the Germans twice.
• These teams first met in the 2013/14 group stage, Diatec TRENTINO beat BERLIN Recycling Volleys 3-1 at home and lost 3-0 away.
• TRENTINO Itas eliminated BERLIN Recycling Volleys in the quarter-finals of the 2020/21 (3-1 away, 3-0 home) and 2021/22 (3-0 home, 2-3 away) Champions League. They finished runners-up in both campaigns.
• BERLIN Recycling Volleys have a W4-L19 Champions League record against Italian opposition, with two of those wins coming against TRENTINO Itas.
• TRENTINO Itas have a W7-L3 Champions League record against German opposition. Besides four wins against BERLIN Recycling Volleys, they beat VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN three times.

BERLIN Recycling Volleys

• BERLIN Recycling Volleys have reached the quarter-finals for the fourth season in a row. They were eliminated at this stage in the three previous campaigns.
• BERLIN Recycling Volleys' best result in a Champions League campaign was finishing third in 2014/15. They hosted the Final Four that season. After losing to Zenit KAZAN (1-3) in the semi-final, they beat PGE Skra BELCHATOW (3-2) in the bronze medal match.
• BERLIN Recycling Volleys have a W5-L3 record in this season's Champions League. Three of their four home fixtures ended in straight sets (3-0, 3-0, 0-3). The exception was a 3-1 win over TOURS VB in the first leg of the Playoff stage.
• Marek Sotola is BERLIN Recycling Volleys' top scoring player on 123 points in this season's Champions League. He was the Champions League's third-highest scorer on 187 points in all phases last season.
• It is quite remarkable that three teams from the “Group of Death”, pool C, have now qualified for the quarter-finals. Thanks to the wins against TOURS VB (3-1, 3-0), the BR Volleys are the first third-placed team to make it into the top eight after the mode reform.
• For French outside spiker Timothée Carle, this is his fifth clash with Itas TRENTINO in a Berlin jersey. The 28-year-old international was already on court in 2021 (1-3, 0-3) and 2022 (0-3, 3-2) when the BR Volleys were beaten by the Italian powerhouse. Cody Kessel and Adam Kowalski are also still part of the Berlin squad since this time.
• Several German internationals showed how to win against an Italian team led by superstars Alessandro Michieletto and Daniele Lavia in the fall. Johannes Tille, Ruben Schott and Tobias Krick meet familiar faces after the sensational Olympic qualification (3-1 against Italy).
• Middle blocker Nehemiah Mote recently missed two matches in the German Bundesliga with back problems. He returns to the squad for the first part of this quarter-final. The Australian is an important international veteran in both, club and national team jerseys.
• An average of 5,440 spectators have watched the BR Volleys' four home games so far this Champions League campaign. More than 6,000 are expected against TRENTINO. The season record of 6,587 dates back to the furious 3:0 win against Halkbank Ankara in December and could get “in danger”.
• Joel Banks (headcoach): "I would say we are up against the best team in Europe at the moment. For me, Trentino is currently number one and Jastrzebski Wegiel is number two. The team is incredibly consistent at the highest level. They play with great balance and make very few mistakes. It is an exciting draw for us. I hope that we can take something from the games against Piacenza for this round. We have known since the game in Berlin what it is like to be pushed against the wall by the opponent. We didn't play badly at all, they were fantastic. We are now set to face an opponent of similar quality in the quarter-finals. Our team can build on this experience - and certainly that of last year against Perugia. We know what to expect. But if you want to go far in the Champions League, sooner or later you have to beat an Italian team."

TRENTINO Itas

• TRENTINO Itas won five of their six group stage matches in this Champions League campaign, including three in straight sets, but lost 2-3 at home against Asseco Resovia RZESZÓW in their final group stage match.
• TRENTINO Itas have progressed from three of their previous four quarter-final appearances (2008/009, 2020/21 and 2021/22). The exception was last season's elimination by Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE (2-3 away, 3-2 at home, lost the Golden Set).
• TRENTINO Itas have won the Champions League three times (2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11), but finished runners-up three times since (2015/16, 2020/21, 2021/22). Only Zenit KAZAN contested (8) and won (6) more finals than TRENTINO Itas (6 played, 3 won).
• Of the teams in this season's quarter-finals, only debutants Gas Sales Daiko PIACENZA (83%) have a higher winning percentage in Champions League history than TRENTINO Itas (78%).
• TRENTINO Itas are the only team to average two aces per set in this Champions League campaign (53 aces across 26 sets), excluding the early rounds. Alessandro Michieletto and Kamil Rychlicki each have hit 12 aces.
• Rychlicki (107) is TRENTINO Itas' leading scorer this Champions League campaign. Michieletto was last season's leading scorer for TRENTINO Itas on 113 points.
• Marko Podrascanin (Trentino Itas Captain) before quarter final home match: "Berlin is absolutely an opponent not to be underestimated because with it is the fourth consecutive time that they are among the best eight teams in the Champions League . They play good volleyball and offer the best version of themselves in front of their own public, also thanks to important players and a coach who has been able to set up his game properly. They are definitely the strongest team in the Bundesliga, and winning often at home they have great confidence in their own means. I think the first leg match at the Max Schemling Halle will be crucial; we will have to pay a lot of attention to that match right away."
• Alessandro Michieletto (Trentino Itas) before quarte final home match: "The double victory in the round of 16 against Tours, whom we have already faced in the group stage, shows how Berlin is a team that plays good volleyball. Winning the first leg in Germany will be very difficult, as it should be since we are talking about a Champions League quarter-final. We are aware that we are facing a great opponent, with an excellent receiving line and a fast and technical attack. However, I have very good memories of Berlin and the arena, which was always warm and noisy. It will be great to play there again".