Richard Mauler
“As I have worked this summer with the Czech national team and was assistant coach at the 2013 CEV VELUX EuroVolley, I have seen some of the players we are going to play in this year’s CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League” says head coach Zdenek Smejkal. “Their level is really high and every single game is going to be a great experience for us. I am very glad that our management was able to fulfil the conditions required to register for this competition. Only by playing the very best teams in Europe we can continue to progress and develop our team even further”.
After last year VK OSTRAVA surprisingly won the national league, two key players – Slovak opposite Peter Michalovic and libero Jan Vaclavik – left the club. This summer VK OSTRAVA signed three players who were added to the roster specifically for their campaign in the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League: US American libero Nick Castello, Swedish middle-blocker Erik Sundberg, and Slovak opposite Igor Rehak. “I can’t say if these guys will really compensate for those who left at the end of the last season but in my opinion the quality of the group has remained the same” adds Smejkal.
VK OSTRAVA will be playing their home matches in the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League in a splendid hall with a capacity of 3,500 and the club management does expect many supporters will show up for a unique Volleyball show.
To read more about this competition check out our CEV Champions League 2013/2014 M coverage page.
