The 2018 CEV Women’s Champions League fourth round is set to begin in just mere hours, with some of the best teams in Europe taking the floor to compete for the most coveted European trophy of the 2018 season. With the beginning of the event, there are a number of things that you should watch out for while the fourth round unfolds:
1. Can Italy continue their Dominance?
The nation of Italy holds the record of eight titles in the Champions League, outshining any other nation by three victories in the competition. Italian squads also took the reign from 2005 to 2010 without being seriously contested by another nation.
Leading the pack in wins is Volley Bergamo with four all-time record wins (2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010) equating for four of the six straight Italian titles.
2. Will Turkey’s VakifBank reclaim the title?
VakifBank has the tools to take the championship for the second straight year after winning in 2017. They have also claimed wins in 2011 and 2013 – a win in 2018 would tie them with Volley Bergamo for all-time wins in the Champions League.
The Turkish team has a number of top players from around the world that gives them a depth that most teams don’t have – Zhu Ting, Gozde Kirdar, Kelsey Robinson, Lonneke Sloetjes, Milena Rasic and Kubra Caliskan.
3. Can Francesca Piccinini Win Her 6th Champions League?
Piccinini has won five Champions League’s in her career and will look to make it #6 as she competes with Italian champions, Igor Gorgonzola Novara along Paola Egonu who is making her debut in the European Cup cycle this season shortly before turning 19.
4. Eczacibasi VitrA misses mark to compete in Champions League
Following a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Turkish League in 2017, a loaded Eczacibasi VitrA misses out on the 2018 Champions League. This means 2017 EurVolley’s MVP Tijana Boskovic will sit out of this year’s edition of the event but will likely shine in the CEV Cup.
5. Eczacibasi’s Woes Means A Galatasaray Win
2017 shocked the Turkish league as Galatasaray swooped in to take the league’s title – giving them an automatic berth in the competition. This is the first time they are reentering the competition since the 2013 Champion’s League where they hosted the final four but finished in fourth place overall.
6. Maritza Plovdiv Making Debut In Late Stages
The Bulgarian squad made a dramatic entrance into the group stages of the Champions League as they fought a 0-2 deficit to win in five, forcing a golden set to be played between the two teams to which they took from Russia’s Yenisei Krasnoyarsk in the third round.
There has been no other Bulgarian team that has made the late stages of the Champions League prior to Martiza.
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