This is kind of a weird match. Zhu is playing well below her usual level meanwhile Larson is having one of the best matches I've seen from her in a couple of years.
Zhu looks tired. She's still on travel just two days ago. Vakif's defense is not good either. ECZ will lead 2:1 now
Now 1:1.
Both teams made many unforced errors. Either Gamze or Cansu did not find the best rhythm with their hitters. Robinson is a weak point of Vakif, esp when she's on the front row.
It's a big surprise Brazil women NT did not make final 6 in WCH 2018. They need some fresh faces. Natalia will be 30 next year, FeGaray is 32, and Tandara is 30 now. With the same old roster, they won't stand a chance in WC 2019 or Tokyo 2020.
If this bracket is right, I am curious about the grouping. Each team in Cup 1 will be the seed for each group? So we have 5 groups?
What do you mean by experience? Bosetti, Merlo, Vasileva, Adenizia, Stevanoviç are all experienced players. Only Haak and maybe Malinov could be considered as young but both of them are experienced in playing on elite level. To me, they are as strong as other 2 italian teams, if not even stronger.
Let's see how Scandicci perform in Italian's league this season. If they could play a 50-50 chance against Novara or Conegliano, I'd say they are more competitive than Fenerbahce in CEV.
yes but Ataman said that one player already had a contract with another team for the next season and he couldn’t make her play her best and he was frustrated because it affected all team. He might have referred to a player or a few, don’t remember that well but I am sure about it. I think it was why she played poorly during CL F4.
I knew he's taking about Gamze. Even in Turkish league, Gamze played awful when teams need her to fight for the last ticket for CEV 2019. Before Galatasaray's second game against Blaj in CEV semi, they already knew Gamze signed a new contract with ECZ. I remembered Gamze was benched for the whole game?
agree..they have a good bench except for Opp position (Gözde Yılmaz) Who i dont think they will need a lot as long as Tijana is healthy
I agree. ECZ needs a solid OP substitute in case Tijana is off. This season is long and tight.
Every year there seems to be a team that looks very strong on paper, but flops big time on court, and for some reason I think it's going to be Scandicci this time.
Experience is the key. Even Fenerbahce looks weak this year. They still have players who have experiences on CEV games. Scandicci is still too young compared with those established teams.
3 Italian teams*
Only Conegliano and Novara are good enough on my list though.
I agree that's what will happen but I think Motta will be quite flexible. If Gibby and Meliha play well when they get a chance or if Larson is not playing well then I see him changing plans quite quickly.
Kim, Larson and Boskovic are most likely starters. They could be replaced if they play poorly. ECZ is famous for their bench strength. Motta is a smart guy.
Even under the new CEV rules, The champion will still be one of those big 6 teams - 3 Turkey teams, 2 Italy teams and 1 Russian team.
having two local setters will be good for Eczacı..i guess Gibbemeyer will play in some matches thanks to Meliha .
who do you think Eczacı should sacrifice against teams like Vakıf , Gibbemeyer or Larson ?
I think Lauren will be out. Beyza and Bursa are good enough to cover MB line. ECZ needs both Kim and Larson on reception, and Boskovic on attacking. It's interesting to see how Gamze performs in her debut show for ECZ. She's terrible on setting at the end of the last season.
Just watched Muserskiy's game @sunbirds in Japan league. He played as OP and made 50+ spikes in a 3:2 game against JT. If he'll play as OP for his whole season in Japan, I'd rather to see he stay in Russia league as MB. At least he can rest his knees in Russia.
Looking forward to watching this game. See how Vakif perform without Gozde and how ECZ play with a new setter.
Yes, he's already been playing regularly for a while now.
It's a pity he did not recover before WCH 2018, otherwise Brazil might have a chance against POL in finals. Hope he'll be healthy for WC 2019.
Lucarelli always recovered from injury? Hope Funvic win the champion this year. They missed a big chance in playoff in last season. Being tired of watching Sada dominate superliga again. SESI-SP is also very competitive.
Perugia won at 3:1 anyway. It takes time for DeCecco to set up properly for Leon. DeCecco needs to set up a bit close to net for Leon to make a powerful spike.
Revenge? With Lanza...
Lanza's not bad in his latest game against Verona. Hope he will find the rhythm of jump serve back. Lanza's reception is better than Aaron, if he performs normally.
well, For my opinion, both teams shouldn’t let their main starts to play in this upcoming match. It would be meaningless but most probably federation wants them to let those players play. Plus, both teams will want the cup.
I heard their international players are not ready for Turkey super cup because WCH 2018 just finished. They are too tired to compete in such a short period of time. Let's see... The schedule of this season is tight anyway. The world club match will be coming soon.
Display MoreForeign players for 2018/2019 Japan V.Premier league
Panasonic Panthers : Michal Kubiak (POL/OH)
Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza : Igor Omrcen (CRO/OP)
Toray Arrows : Antonin Rouzier (FRA/OP) & Aung Thu (MYA/OH)
JT Thunders : Thomas Edger (AUS/OP) & Liu Libin (CHN/OH)
Suntory Sunbirds : Dmitry Muserskiy (RUS/OP,MB)
J-TEKT Stings : Valentin Bratoev (BUL/OH)
Sakai Brazers : Nikola Gjorgiev (MKD/OP)
F.C. Tokyo : Jason Derocco (CAN/OH)
Oita Miyoshi Weisse Adlers : Lawrence Yakan Guma (RWA/OP) & Marck Espejo (PHI/OH)
V.C. Nagano Tridents : Artem Kiselev (RUS/OP)
I thought Rouzier quit playing for France NT too early. He's more solid than Boyer at OP position. Boyer made too many dumb errors either in NT or in Verona. It's amazing to see Kubiak still maintain a good status even in Japan's league. Besides from Kurek, Kubiak is another go-to guy for POL NT in WCH 2018.
