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VakifBank ISTANBUL - A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO

• Either VakifBank ISTANBUL (2021/22, 2022/23) or A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO (2020/21) have won the Champions League in each of the last three seasons.
• A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO and VakifBank ISTANBUL meet for the fifth time in the Champions League. Three of the previous four encounters were in the final (2016/17, 2020/21 and 2021/22).
• VakifBank ISTANBUL defeated the Italians, known as Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO at the time, 3-0 in the final in Treviso on 23 April 2017. Zhu Ting won a match-high 22 points for the Turkish side led by coach Giovanni Guidetti.
• A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO won the Champions League for the first time by defeating VakifBank ISTANBUL 3-2 in the final in Verona on 1 May 2021. Paola Ogechi Egonu (41) and Isabelle Haak (33) finished as their team's top scorers in that final.
• On 22 May 2022, VakifBank ISTANBUL won 3-1 against A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO in the final in Ljubljana. Egonu (39) and Gabriela Guimaraes (23) finished as their team's top scorers in that final.
• The team's only other Champions League meeting came in the semi-finals in Bucharest on 5 May 2018. VakifBank ISTANBUL defeated Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO in five sets to reach the final in which the Turkish side beat CSM Volei Alba BLAJ.

VakifBank ISTANBUL

• VakifBank ISTANBUL hope to become the first team to win the women's Champions League three seasons in a row.
• VakifBank ISTANBUL reached this season's quarter-finals thanks to straight set wins against PGE Rysice RZESZÓW in the Playoff round. Alexandra Annelise Frantti scored 30 points in the Playoff round this season.
• VakifBank ISTANBUL have won each of their last eight knockout rounds in the Champions League, since a 2-3 defeat against A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO in the 2020/21 final.
• VakifBank ISTANBUL (10) have won the most Champions League quarter-finals matches, followed by A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO (7) and Fenerbahce Opet ISTANBUL (7)
• Alexandra Annelise Frantti (99) is the team's top scoring player in this season's Champions League.
• Gabriela Braga Guimaraes (47.37% from 18 sets) had the best blocker efficiency in this season's group stage.
• Giovanni Guidetti (headcoach): "This is the first time we are facing Imoco in a round other than the finals. It's a new situation and we are excited to have the opportunity to compete with such a great team again. Imoco is in great shape and they are playing very well, they are undefeated. It will be a tough task for us. But at the same time we hope that our fans will help us to play a great match."
• Chiaka Ogbogu (player): "I am excited to play in the quarter finals with VakıfBank once again. We will face a strong and fit team. We will do everything we can to show a competitive game on the field. I hope it will be a healthy match for everyone. “I hope we can show our best performance on the field tomorrow."

A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO

• A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO lost only one of their last 13 Champions League matches, a 0-3 defeat in the 2022/23 quarter-finals first leg against Fenerbahçe Opet ISTANBUL.
• That defeat eventually led to A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO's elimination in the quarter-finals of last season's Champions League. It marked their worst result in the competition since being eliminated in the Playoffs 12 in 2013/14 (in their debut season).
• A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO have contested four of the last six finals of the CEV Champions League, winning in 2020/21 and finishing as runners-up in 2016/17, 2018/19 and 2021/22.
• A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO have a W39-L2 record in their last 41 matches in the CEV Champions League, with their only losses coming against Turkish opposition.
• Isabelle Haak (108) was A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO's leading scorer in this season's group stage.
• Haak was the overall Champions League top scorer in three of the last four seasons: 2019/20 (170, season ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic), 2020/21 (236) and 2021/22 (214).
• Daniele Santarelli (coach): "Certainly this Italian Cup and especially the final yesterday against Allianz Milan stressed us physically and mentally, in Trieste we spent a lot of energy, but winning, undoubtedly, helps us recover and keep up the awareness we have in our means and in our great potential. I count that today the team, even though we are on the trip, will be able to reset the emotions and tiredness of the final to throw themselves body and soul into this new challenge against Vakif. It is a fascinating match that we are expecting against a team with an infinite palmares, they are reigning champions from two seasons in the Champions League and even if this year they have struggled a little more than usual we are preparing to face a very strong team with a battery of important champions and many arrows to their bow. We expect a very tough match, they have an excellent system block-defence, they play both fastball and high ball and with a usually reliable reception it is not easy to face them. We play our first match at their home, but home or away doesn't change, the only way to beat a team like Vakif is to play a great game, to play at our best, and that's what we have to do, there's nothing else to add."