#CLVolleyW Pool Previews – Panthers aim for would-be historic third straight title

The ‘Panthers’ of A. Carraro Prosecco DOC CONEGLIANO will be chasing their fourth #CLVolleyW title and the third in a row when they return to play international matches this coming week. They have been the dominant force on the global as well as on the domestic stage for a few years now – and yet they are still hungry for even more success. Their campaign in Pool D will set them up against the likes of Türkiye’s newcomers ANKARA Zeren Sport Kulübü, Germany’s DRESDNER SC and Poland’s ŁKS Commercecon ŁÓDŹ – in what many regard as one of the most competitive and intriguing groups in Round 4 of the CEV ZEREN Group Champions League Volley 2026 | Women. 

A. Carraro Prosecco DOC CONEGLIANO (ITA) 

If they were to emerge victorious by the end of the season from what is their 11th appearance in the competition, the ‘Panthers’ would become the first club to win the women’s CEV Champions League three times in a row. Last year, under the guidance of Daniele Santarelli, CONEGLIANO completed an unprecedented clean sweep of five trophies in as many competitions: the CEV Champions League, FIVB Volleyball Club World Championship, the Italian league, the Italian Cup and the Italian Super Cup.

They will be unable to repeat such a tremendous achievement, since this past October they lost the Italian Super Cup match against Numia Vero Volley MILANO. This setback coincided with the first defeat in a final of a domestic competition since the 2018/2019 Italian Cup gold medal match (vs Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA). The club from Conegliano had won every single Italian league title, domestic cup and Super Cup since that loss.  

CONEGLIANO return to the European stage on the back of 37 straight wins (including one awarded victory) in group stage matches, a record in the competition. Their last defeat in the group phase was 2-3 versus Savino Del Bene SCANDICCI on 20 February 2019. Should they win their six group matches this season, they will equal the longest winning run by any club in the Champions League: 28 victories by VakifBank ISTANBUL (from December 2016 to February 2019). Moreover, CONEGLIANO have won their last 22 Champions League matches, since a 0-3 away defeat against Fenerbahce Opet ISTANBUL in the 2023 quarterfinals. They recorded only one longer winning streak: 26 matches from November 2019 to March 2022 (this figure includes one awarded win).

The club reached the Gold Medal Match (or Final) in six of the last eight completed Champions League seasons. They won in 2021, 2024 and 2025, and they finished runners-up in 2017, 2019 and 2022 (this review excludes the cancelled 2019/2020 season). Monica De Gennaro was part of the  team in all these seasons, while Joanna Wolosz joined the club in 2017/2018.

Their star-studded roster includes De Gennaro and Sarah Fahr – who won five trophies with A. Carraro Prosecco DOC CONEGLIANO and Team Italy in 2025: Champions League, Italian league, Italian Cup, FIVB World Championship, and Volleyball Nations League. Swedish opposite Isabelle Haak was their top scorer on 149 points in last season’s Champions League campaign, including 41 in the Final Four alone. Youngster Merit Adigwe was named MVP and became top scorer (166 points) of the U21 World Championship in 2025 as Italy won the world title. Adigwe scored 34 points in the 3-2 win against Japan in the Final. New signing Matilde Munarini won the gold medal with Italy at the 2025 FISU World University Games (Universiade).

ANKARA Zeren Spor Kulübü (TUR)

Founded in 2022, ANKARA Zeren Spor Kulübü will make their first appearance in the CEV Champions League. They were one of two teams to receive a wild card for this season’s Champions League, alongside Italy’s Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA. They finished fifth in the last edition of the Turkish league, their first campaign in the top flight of the national championship.

ANKARA Zeren Spor Kulübü are the second club from the Turkish capital city to play in the Champions League, after Türk Telekom ANKARA did so in 2007/2008 (group phase) and 2008/2009 (reaching the Playoffs 6). 

Moreover, they are the first debutants to play their first Champions League match against the defending champions since ZOK UB did so in 2021/2022, also against A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO (0-3). The last Turkish debutants to win their first #CLVolleyW group match were Galatasaray Daikin ISTANBUL in 2012/2013 (3-1 against ASPTT MULHOUSE of France). They finished fourth in their debut campaign after hosting the Final Four that same year. 

The roster includes some well-known names to the fans. Kübra Akman reached seven Champions League Finals (winning four), all with VakifBank ISTANBUL between 2013 and 2023. Seyma Ercan Küçükaslan won the Champions League with Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL in 2015. Maja Aleksic secured the CEV Cup title with Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA last season, while Ofelia Malinov lost the Champions League Final with Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO in 2017. With Savino Del Bene SCANDICCI she won the Challenge Cup in 2022 and the CEV Cup in 2023, and with Reale Mutua Fenera CHIERI ‘76 she claimed the CEV Cup title once again in 2024.

Stevan Ljubicic was an assistant coach at CS Volei Alba BLAJ when the Romanian club lost the Champions League Final to VakifBank in 2018.

DRESDNER SC (GER) 

This is the eighth Champions League campaign for DRESDNER SC and their first since the 2021/2022 season when the club finished third in their pool on a 3-3 win-loss record. They survived the group phase three times, reaching the 8th Finals in 2012, and the Playoffs 12 in 2015 and 2016. 

DRESDNER SC won the German Cup in 2024/2025 and finished runners up in the German Bundesliga, after losing the championship series against SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN. In the current season, DRESDNER SC had their revenge versus SCHWERIN by winning the German Super Cup 3-1. 

The Germans have one European trophy to their name: they lifted the Challenge Cup in 2009/2010, when they beat Asterix KIELDRECHT of Belgium 3-1 in the final. Their current mentor Alexander Waibl was already their coach that season. Waibl has been coach of DRESDNER SC since 2009. Among his trophies with the club are as many as four Bundesliga titles. 

All players in DRESDNER SC’s current squad were born after 1 January 2000. Patricia Nestler (born in 2001) and Marta Kamelija Levinska (also born in 2001) are the oldest players in their roster. 

ŁKS Commercecon ŁÓDŹ (POL) 

ŁKS Commercecon ŁÓDŹ are competing in the #CLVolleyW group phase for the sixth time, after 2018/2019, 2019/2020, 2020/2021, 2022/2023 and 2023/2024. The Polish team progressed to the knockout stages in 2022/2023 (lost against VakifBank ISTANBUL in the Play Off round) and in 2023/2024 (losing to Allianz Vero Volley MILANO in the quarterfinals). 

They have a 15-15 win-loss record in their group phase matches. They won their last three group games in 2023/2024. Back then, Valentina Diouf was their top scorer on 172 points, including 135 in the group phase (joint-most in that stage of the competition alongside Ekaterina Antropova for Savino Del Bene SCANDICCI). 

Last season, they finished runners up to KS Developres RZESZÓW in the Polish league and Polish Cup, as well as in the Polish Super Cup in the current season. Regiane Bidias also played for ŁKS Commercecon ŁÓDŹ in their first Champions League campaign in 2018/2019. In the last four years (2021-2025), Mariana Brambilla has played for 10 teams (including ŁKS Commercecon ŁÓDŹ) in seven different countries (USA, Greece, France, Brazil, Peru, Italy, and Poland), while Canadian Thana Fayad played for five clubs in five countries in the last three years.

This is Adrian Chylinski’s first Champions League campaign as head coach. He was an assistant coach of ŁKS Commercecon ŁÓDŹ when they reached the quarterfinals in 2024.