Kobe, Japan, May 13, 2017 - The bronze medal match at the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship in Japan will be a remake of a Pool B clash from the first competition day in Kobe. Two European sides, Switzerland’s Volero Zurich and Turkey’s Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul, will meet once more on Japanese soil to determine which of them will go home with a medal.
In Saturday’s all-Turkish semifinal, Eczacibasi VitrA could not turn the recent trend against their city rivals from VakifBank Istanbul and after a 1-3 (20-25, 23-25, 25-23, 22-25) defeat continued their losing streak against this opponent.
Volero had been on a winning streak since the beginning of the tournament, but it was ended on Saturday, when the Swiss standout suffered a 1-3 (13-25, 16-25, 25-21, 24-26) loss to South American club champions Rexona-SESC Rio de Janeiro from Brazil.
This will be the third time Volero and Eczacibasi meet at the Club World Championship level. The first time was at the semifinals of the 2015 edition in Zurich. Then the Turkish side emerged victorious with a 3-1 (25-17, 25-22, 18-25, 34-32) win to follow up with the gold. The second encounter was on May 9, the first competition day of the ongoing 2017 edition in Kobe. This time Volero managed to upset the reigning title-holders with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 26-24) shutout.
Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul (TUR)
- This is the first time Eczacibasi VitrA take part in a Club World Championship without claiming the gold medals.
- Previously, Eczacibasi VitrA have appeared twice at the Club World Championships. On both occasions, in 2015 and in 2016, they celebrated with the title.
- Eczacibasi have played a total of 13 matches at the Club World Championships and have a 10-3 win-loss record.
- Eczacibasi VitrA’s Tijana Boskovic tops the current tournament standings in as many as three different individual charts. She is first among the Best Scorers with a total of 72 points, among the Best Spikers with a 54.29% success rate in offence, and among the Best Servers with an average of 0.64 aces per set.
Volero Zurich (SUI)
- Volero have kept the tradition to qualify among the best four teams each time they participate in the Club World Championship. This is the fifth time out of five consecutive appearances.
- The 2015 bronze is Volero’s best finish so far. They still have a shot at matching that in 2017.
- Volero have played a total of 21 games at the Club World Championship. They have a 12-9 win-loss record.
- Volero’s libero Silvija Popovic tops the Best Receivers chart with a 62.96% efficiency rate.