ACH Volley Ljubljana optimistic, but also cautious ahead of the first match of the 1/8-final of the CEV Challenge Cup

On Wednesday 12 January at 18:00, ACH Volley Ljubljana will play the first of two matches in the eighth round of the CEV Challenge Cup.

In the almost sold-out Hala Tivoli (the maximum number of participants is limited to 750 people), the undefeated Orange Dragons will take on the Romanian representative C.S.A. Steaua from Bucharest, who currently occupy the third place in the Romanian championship, and who in the 1/16-finals were more successful than the Luxembourg team VC Lorentzweiler.

The head coach and captain of ACH Volley Ljubljana spoke about their expectations ahead of tomorrow's match.

Statement of ACH Volley Ljubljana head coach Mladen Kašić: "The first meeting against Steaua is extremely important for the continuation of the CEV Challenge Cup. We are talking about a team that currently occupies the third place in the Romanian championship and plays very high quality volleyball. The team is mainly made up of several Romanian national players and three Serbian players. I hope we will play well tomorrow and get a good result before the return match."

ACH Volley Ljubljana captain Jan Pokeršnik: "We are undefeated this season, so we are going into the match with a lot of confidence. We are aware that it will not be easy for us in our first home match, but we want to prepare the best possible starting point before the away match in Romania. Away games in the CEV Challenge Cups are very difficult because they are knockout games and there are no make-up exams. The opponent is third in the Romanian championship. They are a solid team, where we know a few individuals. We have watched a lot of their games, so I believe we will be fully prepared for them tomorrow."