Quarterfinal spots at stake as Road to Istanbul continues in #CLVolleyW

The quest for a spot in the quarterfinals of the CEV ZEREN Group Champions League Volley 2026 Women resumes this week, with ANKARA Zeren Spor Kulübü, Numia Vero Volley MILANO and Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA hoping to capitalise on their victories from only a few days ago to secure their place among the top eight clubs in Europe. The five pool winners from Round 4 anxiously await the results of these fixtures to know which side they will have to play for a coveted place in the Final Four scheduled for May 2-3 at the iconic Ülker Sports and Event Hall in Istanbul. 

ANKARA Zeren Spor Kulübü (TUR) vs SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN (GER) 

Last week, SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN and ANKARA Zeren Spor Kulübü faced each other for the first time in a European competition, with the rookies from Türkiye’s capital city securing a 3-1 victory away from home propelled by the 25 points scored by Anna Lazareva. This result did worsen even further the win-loss record of SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN with Turkish opposition to zero wins against seven losses, with six previously coming in group phase games versus Eczacibasi Dynavit ISTANBUL. On the other hand, ANKARA Zeren Spor Kulübü have improved their record in matches with German opposition to 3-0, since earlier this season they had beaten DRESDNER SC in straight sets both at home and away. None of these teams has ever progressed to the last eight of the competition. SCHWERIN had previously reached the knockout phase of the competition twice, losing in the Playoffs 12 (in 2012/2013) and in the Playoff round (last season). Zeren Spor had completed the group stage with a record of four wins and two losses and thus advanced to the Play-Off round. 

SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN middle blocker Britte Stuut is currently recovering from a thumb injury. The German club celebrated its 70th anniversary last year, marking seven decades of continued success and they would certainly love to make it to the #CLVolleyW quarterfinals for the first time ever. With 13 national championship titles, SSC Palmberg is the record champion of the German Women’s Volleyball Bundesliga. 

Stevan Ljubicic, head coach of ANKARA Zeren Spor Kulübü: “The clear win in the first match was important for us, but it does not mean anything for the second game. If we want to reach the quarterfinals, we have to play at our maximum level. We must stay fully focused on our own game and not make any calculations. The team is ready for the match. I believe that we will show our real character and our true strength once again.”

Felix Koslowki, head coach of SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN: “Zeren will once again be a very tough opponent for us. We expect them to put us under a lot of pressure, especially with their attacking quality and physical presence, which already challenged us in the previous match. They have players who can influence the game at the highest level and make life extremely difficult for any team. We know that this will be a demanding and intense battle, and we are fully aware of the difficulty of the task ahead. No matter how the match develops, our mindset is to give everything we have. Our ultimate goal is clear: we want to do everything possible to reach the quarterfinals.”

Numia Vero Volley MILANO (ITA) vs. Olympiacos PIRAEUS (GRE) 

These sides play each other for the fourth time this season, as they had previously locked horns in the pool stage of the competition as well. Last year’s bronze medal winners Numia Vero Volley MILANO have conceded only one set to their Greek opponents this far – and they are the heavy favourites for this return match as well. Olympiacos, after making their first appearance in the #CLVolleyW group stage and reaching the Playoff Round, would cause a real sensation if they were to edge Paola Egonu and her teammates. Egonu received the MVP award in two of the three previous fixtures with Olympiacos. However, they remain a force to reckon with – especially as their roster includes the top scorer of the competition this far – Milica Kubura, on a tally of 211 points, far ahead of the second best performer Tatiana Tolok (168), albeit on a total resulting from 11 matches played including those in the early rounds. 

Jovana Stevanovic and Isabella Di Iulio return to Milan after previously playing for Vero Volley earlier in their careers. 

Stefano Lavarini, head coach of Numia Vero Volley MILANO: “We achieved a positive result in Athens, but the return leg will be decisive for qualifying for the next round. It will be important to play with quality and determination from the start so that we can impose our rhythm against an opponent who will push hard to try to overturn the result from the previous game.” 

Rebecca Piva, outside hitter of Numia Vero Volley MILANO: “It will be an important game for us as it will decide who goes through to the quarterfinals, so we need to prepare for it with the right level of concentration, especially as Olympiacos have shown they can cause problems for big teams like Eczacibasi. It will be important not to underestimate them and to impose our game from the start. We also have the home-court advantage, which we hope will help us secure a good result.” 

Savino Del Bene SCANDICCI (ITA) vs. Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA (ITA) 

After their rather surprising 3-1 home victory, Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA will be able to count on the full roster for the crucial game in Florence. Such a ‘privilege’ has happened only two times this season so far. Giulia Leonardi, Taylor Mims, and Indy Baijens have all fully recovered from their injuries. Recently, NOVARA finished the regular season of the Italian national league in fourth place for the third consecutive year. They achieved this feat after overtaking Reale Mutua Fenera CHIERI ’76 during the last round of action. NOVARA played their last regular season game in Florence against Il Bisonte FIRENZE – a team sharing the sports hall with Savino Del Bene SCANDICCI. Therefore, the Novara team stayed in Florence to focus on preparing for the Champions League fixture. 

Carlotta Cambi, setter of Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA: "We played amazing Volleyball in the first game with SCANDICCI, but now we have to fully reset and be aware that everything starts all over again. We have not achieved anything just yet, so we have to approach the game with the same focus and play our best once more. For sure it will be tough but we will fight at our best to continue our European campaign.” 

Lorenzo Bernardi, head coach of Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA: “With the home-away formula, the crucial game is always the second one, especially when a Golden Set can decide the qualification to the next round. Nothing is settled. We have a slight advantage but this second game will for sure be tougher than the first one and we have to do our best on the court in order to get the job done.”  

Reigning Club World champions Savino Del Bene SCANDICCI finished the 2025/2026 Serie A1 regular season on a record of 22 wins and four losses only, thereby accruing as many as 62 points. To date, Savino Del Bene has faced an Italian team eight times in CEV Champions
League Volley matches. The list includes the likes of Busto Arsizio, Conegliano, and obviously Novara as well. So far, in every edition of the CEV Champions League in which they have taken part, the team from Tuscany has reached at least the quarterfinals. After the CEV Champions League fixture against Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA, Savino Del Bene will face Volley BERGAMO in the quarterfinals of the national league playoffs. The matchup against NOVARA will be Savino Del Bene Volley’s 42nd game of the current season.

Marco Gaspari, head coach of Savino Del Bene SCANDICCI: “We know that advancing to the next round depends on a difficult result – a three-point victory combined with winning the Golden Set – but we certainly must not think about the long term; instead, we need to focus on one set at a time. As I have always said, NOVARA is an opponent with incredible quality and outstanding individual players. In the first leg, they delivered an extremely effective performance in attack, supported by an excellent display in reception. We know that to play against their system, we have to do more, especially in serving and defence, because if we cannot move Cambi away from the centre of the net, it becomes really difficult to face them – and they have proven that over the years. For our part, we definitely want to try to turn the result around, and we know that to do so we will need an extremely aggressive performance from the service line and, above all, great determination in defence. We have to fight point by point, trying to overturn the result also with the support of our fans, who I hope will lend us a helping hand on Wednesday.”