European Cup: The Steelvolleys set the course for promotion

Everything in the CEV Challenge Cup boils down to a round of 16 between the Oberbank Steelvolleys Linz/Steg and TI-volley from Innsbruck. After the Tyroleans won the qualifying first leg at Brusno (Svk) 3-0, the Upper Austrians clearly won 3-0 after just 79 minutes at home against the Slovakian representative Trnava, who started the domestic championship with three defeats (17, 18, 19) through. The return matches next week should only be a formality.

With the fans behind her, Steg set the tone from the first second, and after a quick 3-0 lead, the Linz women gradually expanded their lead. Even a 5:7 deficit in the second set failed to irritate the hosts, whose middle blocker Bojana Ubiparip was fit in time after an illness. They stepped up a gear when necessary. Emma Hohenauer became the top scorer with ten points.

“That was a good test for the team. Trnava is certainly a class better than Salzburg or Bisamberg. We have
We improved with the opponent and showed a solid performance. Once again we were able to put a lot of pressure on with the service,” said Steg coach Facundo Morando with satisfaction. “But we also defended many attacks well or defused them with the block. All in all, the victory was well deserved.”

In the second leg next Tuesday, the Linzers need to win two sets away from home in order to advance. That is doable.

Bridge against TI-volley could become a long-running favorite. After the national Supercup, which Linz narrowly lost 2-3 away, the second duel of the season between the rivals will take place on Sunday (5 p.m.) – then in the league in SMS Kleinmünchen. “It’s clear that we’re looking for revenge,” said Steelvolleys manager Andreas Andretsch.