BERLIN Recycling Volleys - TOURS VB

• BERLIN Recycling Volleys and TOURS VB meet for the third time in the Champions League, after TOURS won both encounters versus SSC BERLIN in the 2004/05 group stage.
• TOURS VB came back from two sets behind to win 3-2 in Berlin in that 2004/05 Champions League campaign. The French won the reverse match 3-0 at home. TOURS VB went on to claim their first and so far only Champions League trophy that season.
• BERLIN Recycling Volleys have won their last two Champions League matches against French opposition, 3-0 and 3-1 wins versus Spacer's TOULOUSE VB in the group stage of the 2017/18 season. The Germans had lost their first four Champions League encounters with French opposition (including versus TOURS VB in 2004/05).
• TOURS VB have lost five successive Champions League matches against German opposition, all versus VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN. This includes last season's Play Off defeats against them (0-3 at home, 2-3 away). The French had won eight of their first nine Champions League encounters with German teams.

BERLIN Recycling Volleys

• BERLIN Recycling Volleys can reach the quarter-finals for the fourth season in a row. They were eliminated at that stage in the three previous campaigns.
• Last season, BERLIN Recycling Volleys beat Ziraat Bank ANKARA 3-2 (15-9 final set) at home to progress to the quarter-finals. The first match in Turkey was cancelled due to last year's major earthquake.
• The last time BERLIN Recycling Volleys were eliminated in a Playoff stage was in 2017/18, when they were eliminated by VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN in the Playoffs 12.
• BERLIN Recycling Volleys have a W3-L3 record in this season's Champions League. Their three home fixtures all ended in straight sets (3-0, 3-0, 0-3).
• Marek Sotola is BERLIN Recycling Volleys' top scoring player on 97 points in this season's group stage. He had scored 125 points in last season's pool phase, and he was the Champions League's third-highest scorer on 187 points in all phases.
• Timothée Carle (25% from 20 sets) and Daniel Malescha (but he played only 5 sets, 33%) have the highest blocker efficiency in this season's Champions League.
• Ruben SCHOTT: "It will be an open and attractive match-up in which we will have to reach our upper performance limit as a team. The French clubs are known in Europe for their strong defence. The fact that Tours won twice against Asseco Resovia RZESZOW in the group speaks for itself. I expect our opponents to be super emotional and they will demand everything from us, especially away from home. Everyone inside our squad is really looking forward to the Champions League again. These games create a special atmosphere in our Max-Schmeling-Halle. We want to prove that we're good enough for the quarter-finals again. It's about rewarding ourselves now for the group stage and showing that we belong in the top eight of the competition."

TOURS VB

• TOURS VB have been eliminated in each of their last five Playoff appearances (2010/11, 2011/12, 2013/14, 2015/16, 2022/23). Last season they lost 0-3 at home and 2-3 away against VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN.
• The last Champions League season in which TOURS VB progressed from a Playoff round was in 2006/07, when they beat DHL OSTRAVA (Playoffs 12 and Portol Palma MALLORCA (Playoffs 6). TOURS VB finished runners up in that campaign, after losing the final against VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN (1-3).
• TOURS VB have a W4-L2 record in this season's group stage. They won their last two matches in straight sets. They could record three straight-sets wins in a row for the first time in the Champions League.
• Excluding awarded wins, TOURS VB can win three successive Champions League matches for the first time since three group stage fixtures in 2015/16.
• Aboubacar Drame Neto (89) is TOURS VB's top scorer in this season's Champions League group stage. He had scored 93 points in last season's group phase.
• Julien FAGANAS will not be making the trip to Germany. The young french opposite is still unavailable due to abdominal problems and will be replaced by Alexandre STREHLAU.
• Aboubacar DRAME NETO, the starting opposite, should regain his place in the Tours squad for this Champions League play-off.
• The TOURS VB team continues to enjoy excellent momentum in its domestic league, with a run of 10 consecutive wins. The team will now travel to Narbonne for the 19th day of the French Championship.
• TOURS is also still in the running for the French Cup, despite a tough encounter last week with 2nd division side St Quentin.
• With a very busy schedule, as they are still present in all the competitions in which they have been involved, managing the squad and the sequence of fixtures could be the key to continuing their European adventure.