2017 CEV Volleyball Cup – Women.
Stuttgart, Germany, February 4, 2017. There is less and less space on the shelfs in the office of Aurel Irion, the Manager of Allianz MTV STUTTGART. After successfully starting the 2016-2017 season at the historic premiere of the German Super Cup in Berlin, last week STUTTGART claimed also the national cup in Mannheim after beating SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN.
In a high-class and very emotional match, it was setter Karmen Kocar and middle blocker Jennifer Pettke, who usually do not belong to the starting six, who stepped in, took their responsibility and with an impressive performance changed the course of the game to seize the third national cup crown in the club‘s history.
The record of STUTTGART’s Spanish-Greek coaching duo Guillermo Naranjo Hernández and Ioannis Athanasopoulos is very impressive. In the third year of their era in Stuttgart, so far they have managed to reach five finals: two in the national league and three in the national cup, these resulting in two national cup titles, not to forget the Super Cup title they won this past fall.
However, the season is not over yet. There are two more titles within STUTTGART’s reach: the German Bundesliga and the CEV Volleyball Cup. Dreams are made of this.... Back to reality.
After two straight victories over Estonian champions KOHILA VC, Allianz MTV STUTTGART reached the 8th Finals of the CEV Volleyball Cup with ease. Waiting there are Czech champions Agel PROSTEJOV, with the first matchup coming up on Wednesday, February 8, starting at 19:00 local time at SCHARRena. One of Allianz MTV STUTTGART coaches is very familiar with the Czech team. “We know everything about PROSTEJOV, the team, the city, we even know, where to go for a good beer,” says Athanasopoulos with his typical big smile on his face.
His fiancée is Sonja Borovinšek who played for PROSTEJOV for three seasons in a row before she decided to retire from competitive sport after a 16-year-long career. “And we also know that PROSTEJOV plays at a totally different level compared to KOHILA. This is going to be a very tough game,” adds Guillermo Naranjo Hernández.
German setter Mareike Hindriksen, who wore the shirt of STUTTGART two years ago, will be standing on the other side of the net, playing for the Czech national champions.
Although coach Hernández is expecting another tough duel, the pleasant by-product of having a home game in the SCHARRena, the one-of-a-kind Volleyball sports hall situated underneath the seating area of a giant soccer arena is to present the trophy of the German Cup to all of the fans who could not make it to Mannheim last Sunday.
Let‘s put it this way: all ingredients for another thrilling Volleyball evening in Stuttgart are there!
