The race to Kobe begins in earnest

Lausanne, Switzerland, November 19, 2016 – With reigning women’s world champions safely through after solid back-to-back home and awayy wins and with no major suprises in the qualifying stages, the European race for the ultimate continental club prize and a direct ticket to the 2017 FIVB Club World Championship is all set ahead of the start of the pools phase of the Champions League. Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul, the gold medallists of the 2016 FIVB Club World Championship in Manila, capped their four-set away win from earlier in the week with a 3-0 (25-14, 28-26, 25-19) sweep of Belarus’ Minchank Minsk before 1,200 fans at the Burhan Felek Saturday evening.Serbia’s Tijana Boskovic, the MVP in Manila last month, pounded the Belarussians with 5 aces and led the scoring with a total of 17 points. Russia’s Tatiana Kosheleva also scored in double digits with 10. That sees Eczacibasi securely through to the pools phase, where huge matchups against their Istanbul crosstown rivals VakifBank, the world bronze medallists in Manila, are highly anticipated. Rounding up Pool D are Germany’s Dresdner SC and Russia’s Uralochka-NTMK Ekaterinburg. With just the top teams of each pool plus the …

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