Trentino Itas and the Berlin Recycling Volleys opened their CEV Champions League campaigns with straight-set victories.
In Trento, defending Italian champions Trentino defeated ACH Volley Ljubljana 3–0 (25–23, 25–23, 25–21) in their Pool A opener. Despite the sweep, Ljubljana challenged throughout, briefly leading late in the third set before Trentino closed the match behind strong serving from Theo Faure and Alessandro Michieletto.
“It was important to win and keep control, because Ljubljana has experience and can always create problems,” Trentino coach Marcelo Mendez said. “Starting a difficult competition like this with a positive result is fundamental.” Ziraat defeated Tours 3–1 in the group’s other match.
In Pool C, Berlin rolled past Spanish champions Guaguas Las Palmas 3–0 (25–20, 29–27, 25–17) in front of nearly 5,000 fans in the Max-Schmeling-Halle. The German champions delivered one of their strongest performances of the season, with Jake Hanes leading all scorers with 19 points and setter Fedor Ivanov earning MVP honors.
“The win was important, but what makes me happiest is that we showed our best team performance so far,” Berlin outside hitter Moritz Reichert said. “Guaguas struggled at times, but they’re experienced and can always come back, so we had to stay focused.”
Berlin moves to the top of Pool C after Perugia dropped a set the previous night.
