Hypo volleyball team

The journey into the “unknown” can be a long one

The qualification for the Champions League in volleyball starts on Wednesday - at least it should: If the newly formed Hypo Tirol squad actually arrives in Kaposvar! Because the weather conditions in the east are (still) unpredictable for the trip to the first leg.

Let's see . . . . This could be of twofold importance for the Hypo volleyball players for their first international appearance in the still young 2024/25 season:

Arrival. The Austrian champions boarded the team bus at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. With a lot of uncertainty in their luggage. The journey to Kaposvar normally takes nine hours - and the weather and water chaos in the east? "We'll have to see whether the normal route via Graz and Maribor will be open," says sports boss Stefan Chrtiansky, "or whether we'll have to take detours at short notice." The 740-kilometer journey to Hungary could therefore be extremely long. Nevertheless, there were no alternatives: Even with the (expensive) plane, the European Cup trip would take a lot of time, the train connections to Vienna were still all canceled on Monday!

Surprise. The qualifying duel against the Hungarian champions is like a grab bag. "I hope we have an early Christmas," smiles neo-player Robert Viiber from Estonia, who only arrived in Innsbruck three weeks ago. "It's difficult to assess how strong Kaposvar really is - because they also have a lot of new players," Head Coach Lorenzo Tubertini clarifies, "but so do we." Video or recordings - both teams will only see the true capabilities of their opponents on the court.

Found as a team
"We're certainly already at a good level and naturally want to win the game." But Tubetini does not want to complain after the mini-preparation in Innsbruck (six weeks). "We've found each other as a team, both on and off the pitch," says the second-team player Adam Provaznik (Tch) confidently.