In their return match of the CEV Cup 32nd Finals, Calcit Volley will host the best Spanish team, CDV Guaguas LAS PALMAS, after last week the players from the Canary Islands recorded a comprehensive 3-0 victory on home soil. The Slovenians only can make it to the next round by a 3-0 or 3-1 victory, followed by a Golden Set. With a top-notch performance – which the home players are certainly able to show – this is not a mission impossible. The game will start at 8 pm on Wednesday night in Kamnik.
Martin Kosmina of Calcit KAMNIK showing his energy and fighting spirit during last week’s match in Las Palmas
“They are very aggressive at the service all the time and that is also why the reception will be all the more important. I hope that our hall will also confuse them a bit, but everything else will be in our hands. Once again, with a good reception, it will be easier for our setter, who will have more options. If all this works, we can hope for a nice evening.”
Matija Pleško
Head coach of Calcit KAMNIK
Already last week in Las Palmas, the team from Kamnik could have achieved a more favourable result, but in the end, they did not succeed. Therefore, their task at home will be even more difficult, but if nothing else, they saw and realised in the first clash that they can play with the Spaniards and stand a chance as long as they perform to the best of their ability.
“In the first match, Guaguas did not surprise us at all. The preparation for the match was good, and the players knew where the greatest danger was coming from. We stopped their Cuban opposite Yosvany Hernandez Cardonell relatively well, while Brazilian Guilherme Magnani Hage caused us more problems, which was one of the reasons why the match ended in favour of the Spanish team. I think the most important thing will be our reception, because without at least a solid reception, we will have a hard time playing against them. We are going to have to do side-outs constantly, but we know we are not exactly shining in reception this season, even though we pay a lot of attention to it in training. I hope that the reception will work well, because this is where everything can start or everything can fall apart,” says Matija Pleško, the coach of Calcit Volley.
Calcit Volley head coach Matija Pleško portrayed during the away match played last week in Las Palmas
Every point will be important; the first goal of Calcit Volley will be to win three sets, without losing more than one, and then focus all their efforts on the Golden Set. “We know what can take us to the next round, but we must not overtake anything. The players really want to advance, but it is true that when your opponent ‘breaks’ you with serves, it looks like you do not care about anything, but believe me, it’s not like that. If the ball does not get to the setter, as it should, then it is a fight with yourself. Although we have many injury problems, we all really want to stay in the CEV Cup. It would be very important to stay in Europe, but it will be difficult. We will try to show our best game at this given moment. I hope that this will be enough to advance,” the coach of the Slovenian cup winners concludes.
Last Saturday in the domestic league, Calcit Volley recorded a victory in ?rnu?e, with a game that did not impress, and Guaguas were in even greater trouble in the Spanish championship, losing in the seventh round against Manacor (2-3).
In that match, Cuban opposite Yadrián Escobar Silva showed that he is already able to be a reference in attack for the Spaniards this season, as he scored as many as 29 points. Earlier this season, Guaguas learned a tough lesson from the Champions League game against Hebar PAZARDZHIK, where they lost their advantage from the first leg and they have more experience on the European stage.
Sergio Camarero, head coach of CDV Guaguas LAS PALMAS: “We know it is going to be a difficult game against a good team. We are aware of the extra difficulty that this entails, but we also know that we are improving every day. The team is working a little better and we are very excited and eager to make it to the next round.”
“We are looking forward to continuing our growth and getting into the next stage of this European competition. We are sure it will be a difficult match. We could already see at home that Calcit has a good team and that all the sets were close. The home advantage is on their side, so we hope to be up to the task and go through to the next phase.”
Jorge Almansa
Player of CDV Guaguas LAS PALMAS
