New season to provide drama from the early stages in the #CLVolleyW

The CEV ZEREN Group Champions League Women is set to open its season with a fascinating round, where a diverse group of teams will battle for a coveted spot in the third round.

With only six teams at the start, the room for mistake is little in the doubleheaders, and one of the three ties pits  Greek champions Olympiacos Piraeus against Belgian team Asterix Avo Beveren.

Beveren, a club with a celebrated tradition in both national and European competitions, have played in the 4th round of the CEV Champions League Women in the 2023/24 season, when they finished last in their pool, which contained the eventual winner, A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano.

Olympiacos are returning in the competition for the first time in four years, having also played in the qualification phase of the 2021/22 season, where they beat Beveren in straight sets in two matches, but were later eliminated by Serbian side ŽOK Ub.

Portuguese side Sport Lisboa e Benfica return to the European stage aiming to turn their strong domestic form into continental progress. They face CD Heidelberg Las Palmas, one of Spain’s most established clubs, which became champion for the first time in the previous season.

North Macedonia’s Janta Volej Kisela Voda are among the new faces in the competition, fueled by ambition and a desire to boost their international profile. They will square off with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s ŽOK Gacko RD Swisslion, as both clubs will treat this tie as a milestone opportunity—either could make history by advancing in Europe’s headline event.

In the next round, the winner between Beveren and Olympiacos will face Hungarian side Vasas Óbuda Budapest, while the winner of the Iberian derby is due to meet Slovenian side OTP Banka Branik Maribor.

French side Volero Le Cannet will meet the winner of the Janta Volej Kisela Voda vs ŽOK Gacko RD Swisslion tie, as OK Dinamo Zagreb and Maritza Plovdiv are due to start in this phase of the competition.