This weekend
Atom Trefl SOPOT is going to play the first couple of matches with Impel
WROCLAW in Poland’s national league semifinals. In the other semifinal, KPS
Chemik POLICE will meet Tauron Banimex MKS DABROWA GORNICZA.
“The key to
success is to fight for each point” says Anna Podolec, Atom’s opposite. “We have to show our character and strength.
There is no time for comprome.”
In the
quarterfinals, Atom Trefl won 9:0 sets in the three matches with Beef Master
Budowlani LODZ. The team from Sopot
gained some confidence by those victories and is ready to fight in the semis.
“We started
the games with Budowlani as the favorites, but this is not always an easy role
for the players. It is obviously nice,
but you have to face the big pressure.
My girls got over that very well.
They won each match by 3:0 and it showed that we can keep our game on
high level despite some ups and downs,” sums up Teun Buijs, the Dutch coach of
Atom.
Nevertheless,
Impel is a higher-ranked team than Budowlani and definitely a stronger
one. The team from Wroclaw, led by
Norwegian coach Tore Aleksandersen, placed third in the Orlen League, so they
took the place behind runner-up Atom Trefl trailing by only 4 points.
Atom’s
middle-blocker Zuzanna Efimienko played in the past five consecutive seasons in
Wroclaw and she realized how strong Aleksandersen’s team might be.
However it is
hard to judge which team will be better on Saturday and Sunday afternoon in
Sopot. There is no common point between
the two encounters of the two teams in the regular season. In the first away
game, Atom lost by 0:3, but then they took the victory in straight sets at
home.
The last time
Atom Trefl played at Ergo Arena was against Romania’s Dinamo Romprest BUCURESTI
in the main phase of 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League. Because of some other events and mostly the
2014 IAAF Indoor World Championships, they were unable to play at their home
hall for three months.
“I am glad to
play again at our big hall and I was looking forward to come back here. When we play in a facility like this, it is
also good for our supporters. I think
that we can play better volleyball here as we will be more confident at this
hall that we used to call our home,” stresses Charlotte Leys, Dutch wing-spiker
of Atom.
The first
couple of games will be held in Sopot this weekend, both starting at 14:45
local time. Then the rivalry will be
continued in Wroclaw on April 7 and, if necessary, April 8. If the result is tied at 2 victories each,
the decisive fifth match will be played in Sopot two days later.
