Stuttgart, Germany, January 22, 2018. After two straight 3-0 victories in their matchups with VK UP Olomouc of the Czech Republic, Allianz MTV Stuttgart progressed to the 8th Finals of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Cup – Women where they will play Belgium’s Asterix Avo Beveren, starting with a home round on Wednesday, January 24.

“This will by far be the most difficult challenge,” says the coach of the visiting team, which has been reigning the Belgium Volleyball scene for years. Asterix can boast an impressive series of domestic titles, as they are 14-time national cup winners, 11-time national champions and nine- times winners of the Supercup. Although the squad is currently heading for their 18th straight participation in the national cup finals, they consider their German opponent as the favourite for the upcoming CEV Cup fixtures.

Undefeated in 2018, the German vice-champions are acting very unpredictably. In every match this year, a different player was the eventual top scorer. Julia Schaefer took this honour vs Olomouc (13), Molly McCage and Paige Tapp scored 14 times vs VfB Suhl Lotto Thüringen, as Deborah van Daelen and Nika Daalderop did the same (scoring 18 points apiece) vs. Ladies in Black Aachen; again Nika Daalderop (13) and Michaela Mlejnková (12) top scored vs. Schwarz-Weiß Erfurt.

“The performance of my players is now causing me a headache,” says Stuttgart Greek-born mentor Ioannis Athanasopoulos with a big smile on his face, “because I do not know whom I am going to put in the starting six. But this is one of the good problems a coach is encountering in his job.” Furthermore, it is the middles running for the points, when the outside hitters are suffering from a jam in their scoring arms.

Stuttgart’s Sports Director Kim Renkema knows a little bit about the upcoming opponent. “I watched their Champions League match and I still do know two of their players personally,” she says. “They have skills I also appreciate in our team: a good team spirit and a good fighting spirit. I really look forward to the match.”