In focus: #CLVolleyM Pool D

Fate brought the SuperFinalists of the last two #CLVolleyM editions together already in the 4th Round of the CEV Champions League Volley - Men 2023. Without a doubt, Pool D will grab a lot of attention in the upcoming weeks, and hopefully many of the fixtures in this group will turn into fascinating Volleyball shows.

Pool D features back-to-back #CLVolleyM champion Grupa Azoty Zaksa KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE and runner-up of the last two editions, TRENTINO Itas, along with the national champion of Czech Republic ČEZ KARLOVARSKO and rookie in Europe’s prime club competition - Decospan VT MENEN from Belgium. The clash between the double reigning champions and Karlovarsko on November 9 at 20:30 (CET) at Azoty Kędzierzyn Koźle will start the double round-robin in this pool. One day later, Trentino will take on Decospan at BLM Group Arena TRENTO, the first whistle is also scheduled at 20:30. The highly-anticipated re-match of the SuperFinal will be played in Leg 3, on November 29 in Trento.

Grupa Azoty Zaksa KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE, a nine-time Polish champion, earned their maiden Champions League trophy in 2021, writing a new chapter in Polish Volleyball history. This success was a driving force for the team from Kędzierzyn Koźle in the following season. They dominated on the domestic and European stage, triumphing in PlusLiga and the Polish Cup and completing their season's collection with another European crown won in the SuperFinals in Ljubljana. They are one of the most titled Polish clubs, so they enter every new season with high goals. This season, Zaksa perform without Kamil Semeniuk, MVP of the SuperFinals 2022, who joined Sir Safety Perugia. But newly appointed Zaksa's head coach Tuomas Sammelvuo can count on #CLVolleyM MVP from 2021 – Aleksander Śliwka, powerful opposite Łukasz Kaczmarek and American stars David Smith and Erik Shoji.

In focus: Grupa Azoty Kędzierzyn Koźle

The Italian powerhouse, TRENTINO Itas enter this #CLVolleyM edition as the 3^rd team of the Italian League. The 2021 and 2022 SuperFinalists are among the most decorated Volleyball clubs in the world. They have amassed a medal collection that any team would be extremely proud of. They swept the #CLVolleyM title for three years in a row between 2009 and 2011 and grabbed three silvers (2016, 2021, 2022) and one bronze (2012). They were crowned the club world champions on five occasions (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018) and finished third in this competition in 2013, 2016 and in December 2021. In contrast to Zaksa, they kept their squad from last season almost untouched. The team from Trento, powered by Italian superstar Alessandro Michieletto and Bulgarian legend Matey Kaziyski, hope to finally get new gold in their cabinet.

In focus: Trentino Itas

ČEZ KARLOVARSKO of Czech Republic start their third campaign in #CLVolleyM main phase.  Last year they didn’t manage to qualify for the 4^th Round, so the club competed in the CEV Cup, reaching the quarterfinals. The three-time national champion of the Czech Republic made their debut in Europe’s club top-tier in the season 2018/2019, finishing their performance in the pool phase like they did in 2020/2021, when they contested in the pool with Trentino (losing both encounters against the Italian giants). The team around head coach Jiří Novák enjoyed a perfect start to the season. The unbeaten leader of Czech ExtraLiga have recorded eight victories so far. Czech opposite Patrik Lamanec and outside hitter Jakub Ihnat are the driving forces of the team and players to watch out for.

The runners-up of the Belgian Liga A and 3^rd team of the Belgian Cup, Decospan VT MENEN make their debut in the most prestigious club competition in Europe this season. However, they already have a long track of record on the European stage. In previous years they played regularly in the CEV Cup (in 2022 they were already eliminated in the 16^th finals) –  and in the Challenge Cup earning 3^rd place twice, in 2012 and 2016. This season, a bar is set much higher. Even if they are underdogs in Pool D, they definitely have nothing to lose, but the team under the guidance of the coach Frank Depestele have to quickly find the right rhythm, as so far they are winless in the domestic league with three defeats to their name. Finnish outside hitter Jiri Hanninen and Belgian opposite Lou Kindt are expected to be scoring leaders of the team from Menen.

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