MONZA, 26 FEBRUARY 2024 – MINT Vero Volley Monza is ready to host the second leg of the CEV Challenge Cup 2024 at the Opiquad Arena tomorrow, Tuesday 27 February, at 8.00 pm (live DAZN). Within the friendly walls of Monza, the first the men’s team of the Vero Volley Consortium will face the fearsome Polish team of Projekt Warszawa, victorious 3-1 in the first leg at the COS Towar Hall.

The team led by coach Massimo Eccheli will therefore have to win four sets to take home the second continental trophy in their history, after the CEV Cup raised in 2022 thanks to the double success achieved over the French club Tours (3-0 in both the first leg than on the way back). Beretta and his teammates, unbeaten on their journey until the last match in the third European event in order of importance, will have to put heart, enthusiasm, quality and determination on the field: characteristics that the Monza team have consistently displayed to get to this point.

For MINT Vero Volley Monza is therefore an appointment with its own history, already embellished by the exciting numbers recorded in the current season. Coming off a brilliant period in the championship where, in the last four outings, there were victories against Piacenza, Milan and Padova away and Catania at home, Monza wants to get back to being excited and exciting, trying to put on the Mondoflex Brianza that beautiful volleyball capable of giving them not only many joys during the season, but also and above all an almost flawless path in the Challenge Cup. Eight successes in the competition thanks to a series of solid and positive performances; in the first match on Polish soil, Loeppky and Szwarc put in a solid performance, scoring 21 points each.

On the other side of the net, however, there will be a team, the Polish team from Warsaw, which has proven to be a really tough nut to crack. The team led by coach Graban started with the elimination inflicted on the Slovenians of Calcit Kamnik in the round of 16 (double 3-0). Warsaw’s journey continued with the double victory over French side Saint-Nazaire in the round of 16 (3-0 in the first leg, 1-3 in France), over Romanians Dinamo Bucharest in the quarter-finals (3-0 home and away). The Polish club then also won the Semi-final against the Finnish AKAA Volley, easily ensuring access to the final stage of the competition. In the first leg of the final, the Poles got the better of the Brianza team also thanks to the performance of Yurii Semeniuk, MVP of the match with 15 points including 2 aces and 6 blocks.

ROSTER – MINT VERO VOLLEY MONZA
Setters: KRELING, VISIC
Centrals: BERETTA, DI MARTINO, GALASSI, COMPARONI
Spikers: MAAR, SZWARC, TAKAHASHI, LOEPPKY, MUJANOVIC
Libero: GAGGINI, MORAZZINI
Coach: ECCHELI

ROSTER – PROJEKT WARSZAWA
Setters: STEPIEN, FIRLEJ
Central: KOWALCZYK, WRONA, SEMENIUK, AVERILL
Spikers: TILLIE, BOLADZ, SZALPUK, GROBELNY, WEBER, BORKOWSKI
Libero: GRUSZCZYNSKI, WOJTASZEK
Coach: GRABAN

REFEREES
Süleyman YALCIN (NED), Vladimir SIMONOVIC (SVI)

PRECEDENTS
CEV Challenge Cup Final – First leg: Projekt Warszawa – MINT Vero Volley Monza 3-1 (25-18; 21-25; 25-18; 25-19).

THE EX’S OF THE RACE
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CURIOSITY
It is the second European final in the Challenge Cup for MINT Vero Volley Monza after the one against the Russians Belgorod, in the 2019 CEV Challenge Cup (victory in the first leg 3-2, defeat in the second leg 3-1).

PRE-MATCH STATEMENTS
Massimo Eccheli (coach MINT Vero Volley Monza): “To overturn the result of the first leg we will have to show great determination. We will try to play strong matches, building advantages that allow us to be continuously aggressive without conceding too much. In Warsaw we are We were lacking in service and in some phases of the match: we didn’t have all the energy needed against an organized and high-level team. In this match we will show off all our desire to win.”

Thomas Beretta (captain MINT Vero Volley Monza): “We are excited. Unfortunately we are not in the best conditions after the defeat in the first leg, but this is the last match: therefore we must win and we must do it in the best possible way to raise the cup. It has been a long and demanding road, we want to give our best to give ourselves this joy in front of our fans.”

CHALLENGE CUP 2024 | THE PATH OF MINT VERO VOLLEY MONZA
Round of 16 – First leg
November 23, 7.30 pm
Sporting Lisbon (POR) – MINT VERO VOLLEY MONZA 2-3
Round of 16 – Second leg
November 23, 8.00 pm
MINT VERO VOLLEY MONZA – Sporting Lisbon (POR) 3-0
Round of 16 – First leg
December 13th, 6.30pm
Panathinaikos Athen (GRE) – MINT VERO VOLLEY MONZA 2-3
Round of 16 – Second leg
December 21st, 8.00 pm
MINT VERO VOLLEY MONZA – Panathinaikos Athen (GRE) 3-0
Quarter Finals – First leg
January 9th, 7.30pm
Levski Sofia (BUL) – MINT VERO VOLLEY MONZA 0-3
Quarter Finals – Second leg
January 17, 7.00 pm
MINT VERO VOLLEY MONZA – Levski Sofia (BUL) 3-0
Semifinal – First leg
Thursday 24 February, 7.00 pm
MINT VERO VOLLEY MONZA – Galatasaray HDI Istanbul (TUR) 3-0
Semifinal – Second leg
February 6, 8.00 pm
Galatasaray HDI Istanbul (TUR) – MINT VERO VOLLEY MONZA 2-3
Final – First leg
Tuesday 20 February, 6.00 pm
Projekt Warszawa (POL) – MINT VERO VOLLEY MONZA 3-1
Final – Return
Tuesday 27 February, 8.00 pm
MINT VERO VOLLEY MONZA – Projekt Warszawa (POL)

THE FORMULA
As per tradition, the teams will face each other in direct elimination rounds over home and away matches. The player who has won the most points in the double match will go through (3-0 and 3-1 award 3 points to the winner and 0 to the loser, 3-2 assigns 2 points to the winner and 1 to the loser). In case of a tie there will be a Golden Set.