A. Carraro Prosecco DOC CONEGLIANO chasing another historic milestone

A. Carraro Prosecco DOC CONEGLIANO, the reigning two-time consecutive winners of the CEV Champions League, stand on the brink of history as they aim to become the first club ever to claim three straight titles in Europe’s premier volleyball competition. To achieve that, the Italian powerhouse will need two victories at the CEV ZEREN Group Champions League 2026 Final Four in Istanbul, scheduled for May 2–3. Their first obstacle will be Turkish giants VakifBank Istanbul, a familiar rival with whom Conegliano share a remarkable history of clashes in the competition’s decisive stages.

Since 2017, Conegliano and VakifBank have faced each other six times in the Champions League knockout rounds, from the quarterfinals to the final, with both teams recording three wins apiece. VakifBank claimed a 3-0 victory in the 2017 final and followed it up with a 3-2 win in the 2018 semifinals. Conegliano responded by winning the 2021 final 3-2, before VakifBank triumphed again in the 2022 final (3-1). Most recently, in the 2024 quarterfinals, Conegliano prevailed in both matches, winning 3-1 each time.

The reigning European champions began their 2026 campaign in Pool D, finishing with a perfect record of six wins and only one point conceded. Champions League debutants ANKARA Zeren Spor Kulübü provided an early scare, taking a 2-1 lead in sets in their opening match in Villorba-Treviso. However, Conegliano edged a dramatic tie-break 20-18 after 138 minutes of play.

In the remaining five matches, Conegliano secured straight-set victories, allowing their opponents to surpass the 20-point mark in only four of the 15 sets played. ŁKS Commercecon ŁÓDŹ managed 23 points in the second set of their third-round encounter at home, while DRESDNER SC reached the same tally in the fourth round in Italy. In the fifth round in Ankara, Zeren scored 21 points in both the first and third sets.

Conegliano captain and setter Joanna Wołosz ranks as the best setter of the 2026 Champions League with a 55.56% efficiency rate. Isabelle Haak sits 10th among the competition’s top scorers and leads Conegliano with 144 points (5.14 per set) across eight matches (28 sets), while Zhu Ting is 19th with exactly 100 points (4.55 per set) from seven matches (22 sets). Notably, Zhu and Haak also lead the team in blocking with 15 and 14 kills respectively, followed by Marina Lubian and Sarah Fahr with 12 each.

In the quarterfinals, Conegliano once again faced Ankara Zeren. The Italian champions claimed a 3-0 away victory in Türkiye (25-21, 25-18, 25-17), and then secured progression to the semifinals by winning the first two sets at home. However, Ankara Zeren staged a comeback to win 3-2 (21-25, 17-25, 25-19, 32-30, 15-13), ending Conegliano’s remarkable run of 29 consecutive Champions League victories.

That winning streak began on March 23, 2023, with a 3-2 victory over Fenerbahçe in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, and lasted almost three full years, ending on March 18, 2026. During that period, Conegliano recorded 11 wins in the 2024 edition, 10 in 2025, and seven in the current 2026 campaign.

Conegliano also holds the world record for the longest winning streak across all competitions, with 76 consecutive victories achieved between December 2019 and December 2021 (including the Champions League, Italian League, Italian Cup, and Italian Super Cup). The previous record was held by this year’s semifinal opponent, VakifBank Istanbul, who recorded 73 straight wins between 2012 and 2014.

Founded in 2012, Conegliano have amassed a total of 30 trophies. Their honours include eight Italian League titles (five consecutive since 2021), eight Italian Cups (seven consecutive since 2020), and eight Italian Super Cups (seven consecutive through 2025), as well as three CEV Champions League titles (2021, 2024, 2025) and three FIVB Club World Championship trophies (2019, 2022, 2024).

Another European “classic” between two outstanding teams, Conegliano and VakifBank, is set for May 2 at 17:00 local time (16:00 CEST) in Istanbul.