Galati (Romania), 12 November 2024

2025 CEV Cup, Wednesday in Romania (5 PM) the first leg of the Round of 32

The 2025 CEV Cup officially begins for Trentino Volley. On Wednesday, November 13, they’ll play the first leg of the Round of 32 in Europe’s second most important club competition. After winning their fourth Champions League title last May in Antalya, Trentino Itas will start its journey in this European tournament by facing Romania’s C.S. Arcada Galati on the road. Kick-off is scheduled for 5 PM Italian time, with live coverage on Radio Dolomiti.
HERE'S TRENTINO ITAS Just over six months after their fourth Champions League victory in Antalya, the yellow-and-blue team returns to European competition, making its debut in a tournament they last won in their previous appearance (2019 edition). Coming off seven wins in their first nine matches this season, Sbertoli and his teammates approach Europe’s second-tier competition determined to achieve a positive result right from this first match, aiming to secure a calmer return leg at home on November 20.
"It's an important competition with many clubs of great tradition, bringing together diverse volleyball schools, and it always features decisive matches, since each home-and-away tie determines qualification for the next round," explains Trentino Volley coach Fabio Soli - "We want to make our mark in this tournament as well, and we’ll give our best to make sure our journey is long and full of satisfaction. Trips like this one to Galați are anything but simple—not only from a purely competitive standpoint but also logistically. That’s why I hope the team approaches this match well, setting the game on the desired track from the start, against an opponent we don’t know very well but who will certainly attack every ball with full force."
The Trentino coach has brought all fourteen players from the roster, including Romanian middle blocker Bela Bartha. Although still unable to play due to an abdominal injury sustained in October, Bartha will be listed for the match held in his home country. The European champions arrived in Galați on Monday evening after a journey of over ten hours involving bus, plane, and another bus transfer. Later this afternoon, they’ll have their first practice session at the game venue, the Sports Hall.
FIFTH YELLOW-AND-BLUE PARTICIPATION IN THE CEV CUP This is Trentino Volley’s fifth appearance in the CEV Cup and their nineteenth European competition overall, including thirteen appearances in the CEV Champions League.
Trentino Volley has previously competed in the CEV Cup four times, during the 2004/05, 2014/15, 2016/17, and 2018/19 seasons: 2004/05 Season: Trentino Volley began in the Top Teams Cup, hosting a four-team group at PalaTrento, including Famagusta (Cyprus), Strassen (Luxembourg), and Rotterdam (Netherlands). After placing second in the pool, they advanced to the CEV Cup. Under coach Prandi, Trentino Volley won a subsequent four-team qualifying group in Odense (Denmark), defeating teams such as Pribram (Czech Republic) and Patras (Greece). The journey ended in the Round of 16 against Halkbank Ankara, who defeated Trentino twice with 3-1 scores on December 7 and 15, 2004.
2014/15 Season: Trentino’s run went much further, ultimately finishing as runners-up to Dynamo Moscow. After two highly competitive matches—Moscow winning at PalaTrento and Trentino claiming victory in Moscow—the title was decided by a golden set in Dynamo’s favor. Coached by Stoytchev, Trentino reached the final by defeating Novi Sad in the Round of 32, Tel Aviv in the Round of 16, Craiova in the quarterfinals, Roeselare in the Challenge Round, and Kedzierzyn-Kozle in the semifinals.
2016/17 Season: Trentino again finished as runners-up, this time to Tours VB from France. In the final, Trentino won the first leg 3-0 at home, but Tours equalized with a 3-1 win in France, then clinched the title by winning the golden set. To reach the silver medal in the 2014/15 season, Trentino Volley’s journey included two-legged matches against Loimaa in the Round of 32, Sastamala in the Round of 16, Piacenza in the quarterfinals, and Fenerbahçe Istanbul in the semifinals.
The most memorable previous campaign came in the 2018/19 season, when Trentino Volley claimed the CEV Cup trophy. They won the final with a 3-0 victory at home and a 3-2 win in Istanbul against Galatasaray, capping off a perfect run through the competition with only wins. Along the way, Trentino defeated Lausanne (twice in the Round of 32), Haching (twice in the Round of 16), Amriswil (twice in the quarterfinals), and Olympiacos (twice in the semifinals).
THIRD EVER AWAY MATCH IN ROMANIA The current trip marks Trentino Volley’s third ever away match in Romania. Previously, they visited Zalău on December 8, 2010 (winning 3-0) during the group stage of the 2011 Champions League, and Craiova on January 13, 2015 (also winning 3-0) in the quarterfinals of the CEV Cup. In both instances, after their trips to Romania, Trentino successfully advanced to the final of that specific competition, winning the 2011 final in Bolzano and losing the 2015 final in Moscow.
THE OPPONENTS Arcada Galati (a city of 250,000 people in southeastern Romania) is competing in the 2025 CEV Cup after losing its national title to Corona Brasov last season. Between 2020 and 2023, Arcada had won four consecutive Romanian championships. During this period, they also claimed two Romanian Cups and three Supercups. This is their eighth appearance in the CEV Cup, following five participations in the Champions League (including the last two editions) and one appearance in the Challenge Cup. The best international result for Arcada Galati came in the CEV Cup, where they reached the quarterfinals in 2020. In the most recent Champions League edition, however, they were eliminated in the group stage of Pool E, which also included Civitanova, and lost 3-2 in Romania on January 9. The team, coached by Sergiu Stancu for the past five seasons (a former player who played as a middle blocker in Italy's Serie A1 with Martina Franca), features several key foreign players, such as Canadian outside hitter Marshall and Egyptian middle blocker Mohamed. At the outside hitter position, they also have Latvian Freimanis, a former player in Italy’s league with Taranto in the 2021/22 season. After seven matches, they currently sit in fourth place in the Romanian national league standings, with four wins and three losses, the latest being a 3-1 defeat at Unirea Dej on Saturday night. The C.S. Arcada Galati roster: 1. Landry Kavogo Yaoussia (setter), 3. Filip Andrei Costantin (opposite), 4. Wilfrio Encarnacion Hernandez (middle blocker), 5. Andrei Butnaru (middle blocker), 6. Bernard Bakonji (opposite), 7. Ovidiu Costin Darlaczi (setter), 8. Steven Marshall (outside hitter), 9. Veniamin Ioan Aldea (middle blocker), 11. Carol-Gabriel Kosinski (libero), 12. Marian Iulian Bala (setter), 13. Alexandru Rata (outside hitter), 14. Gustavs Freimanis (middle blocker), 15. Liviu Cristudor (libero), 16. Mohamed Abdelmohsen Soliman (middle blocker), 22. Mario Eduard Panait (outside hitter), 28. Alexandru Ionescu (outside hitter). Coach: Sergio Stancu.
THE COMPETITION FORMULA The 2025 CEV Cup consists of seven double rounds (home and away) of matches (Round of 32 – already played – Round of 16, Quarterfinals, Playoffs, Semifinals, and Final) in a knockout format: the team that scores the most points over the two matches advances. Points are awarded as in the league: 3 for a victory by 3-0 or 3-1, 2 for a win in a tie-break, and 1 for a loss in a tie-break (golden set to 15 in case of a tie on points – the same system as the CEV Champions League Playoffs 12). The team that advances will face the winner of the matchup between Sport Lisboa e Benfica (Portugal) and Calcit Kamnik (Slovenia) in the Round of 16: the first leg between the two teams is already taking place tonight.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS Wednesday's match will mark the first-ever meeting in history between the two clubs. In contrast, Trentino Volley has a positive track record against Romanian teams, having faced them four times previously. These encounters include not only matches played in Romania but also two home games: on December 13, 2010, Trentino Volley won 3-0 against Zalau, and on January 22, 2015, they secured a 3-1 victory over Craiova in the return leg.
REFEREES The match will be officiated by Konstantinos Voudouris, the first Greek referee from Athens, and Ukrainian Serhiy Hulka. Only Voudouris has previous experience with Trentino Volley: he refereed the match Trento-Losanna, which ended 3-0 on December 6, 2018, during the return leg of the Round of 16 in the 2019 CEV Cup.
RADIO AND INTERNET The match will be covered with continuous live updates from Romania by Radio Dolomiti, the media partner of Trentino Volley, starting around 5:05 PM. On the website www.radiodolomiti.com, listeners can find all the frequencies of the regional network and simultaneously stream the live commentary of the match by accessing the "on air" section.
To follow the point-by-point progression of the game, you can consult the official CEV website at https://www.cev.eu/match-centres/2025-european-cups/cev-volleyball-cup-2025-men/ccm-39-cs-arcada-galati-v-trentino-itas/, which will provide live scores, or visit Trentino Volley’s site at www.trentinovolley.it, which will also offer set-by-set commentary a few minutes after each segment concludes. Updates will also be continuously available on the yellow-blue social networks, particularly on www.trentinovolley.it/instagram and www.trentinovolley.it/twitter.

Trentino Volley Srl
Press Office