Four sides attempt comebacks in the second leg of the CEV Volleyball Cup Women quarter-finals

Two weeks ago, the first leg of the quarter-finals of the CEV Volleyball Cup Women has brought four clear wins, with all the four winners needing only two sets to progress into the next phase of the competition.

Three of the teams secured home wins, with the only away win coming from CS Volei Alba Blaj against FC Porto, the only side to have won against a team eliminated from the CEV Champions League Women.

But the Romanian side, which were runners-up in the CEV Champions League Women in 2018, runners-up in the CEV Volleyball Cup Women in 2019 and 2023 and runners-up in the CEV Challenge Cup Women in 2021, are primed to secure another semi-finals berths, continuing their excellent run in European competitions.

In the first leg, Blaj had four players score at least 10 points, with Monika Krasteva (17 points) and Yelyzaveta Ruban (16 points) leading the way in their 3:0 (25:22; 25:20; 25:21) win against Porto. Now, on their home court, CS Volei Alba Blaj will be favoured to secure a semi-finals berth, as Porto displayed an attacking efficiency of over 33% in a single set of the three played.

The only team coming from the CEV Champions League Women and losing in the first leg of the quarter-finals was Bulgarian team Maritza Plovdiv, which has a crunch doubleheader against Igor Gorgonzola Novara on their hands.

Novara, a clear favourite to secure the title and be sure they complete a hat-trick of European trophies after winning the Champions League in 2019 and the Challenge Cup twice in 2003 and 2024, disposed easily of the Bulgarian side, with a 25:20; 25:13 and 25:19 win.

Tatiana Tolok had 23 points in the first leg, with Novara having an attacking efficiency of at least of 45% in all the three sets. Taylor Mims added 15 points, as the Italian side is now primed to secure their semi-finals berth in the away leg scheduled for Tuesday, 18 February, at 19:00 CET.

Vasas Óbuda Budapest had Taylor Bannister score 24 points in their 3:1 home win against Polish side Moya Radomka Radom, as the two-time winner of the competition, in 1980 and 1981, have the first chance of progressing  into the semi-finals.

But Radom, which have already lost two matches, including one on their home court, needing a golden set against Vandeouvre Nancy HB, will try to come back in the second leg, scheduled for Tuesday, at 20:30 CET. Qualifying would see Radom for the first time in history in an European semi-final.

BKS Bostik ZGO Bielsko-Biała are the third team coming from the CEV Champions League Women which have secured a win in their quarter-final, a 3:1 dominating performance against THY Istanbul.

All of the three sets won by the Polish side were crytal clear wins (25:16; 25:21; 25:12), as Julita Piasecka scored 21 points and Kertu Laak added 18 points. The only blip on the radar came in the second set, which THY took 25:21.

So far, THY have not lost a single set in three matches on their home court, as the Turkish side embarks on a long journey in this match, trying to earn a 3:0 or a 3:1 win, which would see the match head to the golden set.