MINT Vero Volley Monza will face Turkish Fenerbahçe Medicana Istanbul today in the first return match of Group B in front of their home crowd at the Opiquad Arena in Monza. In the first encounter in Turkey in November, the Italians secured a decisive 0:3 victory (23-25; 20-25; 23-25), ensuring their top spot in the group. Prior to that, the two teams had never met, while the consortium's women's team, Novara Vero Volley Milano, faced Fenerbahçe last year in the Champions League semi-finals.There is only one player from the visiting team who has been on the home team: Bulgarian Denis Karyagin, who is now in the Turkish ranks, but in 2022 won the CEV Cup with Monza in Tours.Only two points separate the two teams. MINT has a perfect record so far in Europe with two tie-break victories (against Olympiacos in their debut and Giesen) and one \u2013 precisely against the Turks \u2013 in three sets. Fenerbahçe has one clean victory against the Germans and one after a tie-break against the Greeks. Due to a worsening shoulder problem, opposite hitter Ibrahim Lawani will not be available, having returned to France for a period of rehabilitation. Fenerbahçe has not won the Turkish championship since 2019 but maintains a consistent presence in the Champions League. On an international level, they have significant achievements, having won the CEV Challenge Cup in 2013, making volleyball history: on the same day, the club's women's team also won the CEV Cup. Last year, Fenerbahçe reached the semi-finals of the CEV Cup, while in the championship they finished second, defeated by Halkbank Ankara in the playoff final.
The first referee of the match will be Ivaylo Ivanov.
Group B Standings
MINT Vero Volley Monza 7, Fenerbahçe Medicana Istanbul 5, Olympiacos Piraeus 5, Helios Grizzlys Giesen 1.