The CEV Champions League was the highest level of European club volleyball in the 2017–18 season and the 58th edition. The Turkish club VakıfBank Istanbul won its fourth overall and second consecutive title. The Romanian club CSM Volei Alba Blaj won the silver medal and Italian Imoco Volley Conegliano claimed the bronze medal. The Turkish Gözde Kırdar Sonsırma from VakıfBank Istanbul, who will retire, was awarded Most Valuable Player.
Qualification
A total of 16 team participate of the main competition, with 12 teams being allocated direct vacancies on the basis of ranking list for European Cup Competitions and 4 teams qualified from the qualification rounds. Drawing of lots was held in Moscow, Russia on 17 November 2017.
RankCountryNo. teamsQualified teamsTotal1213Fenerbahçe SK IstanbulGalatasaray SK IstanbulVakıfbank Istanbul22-2Dinamo KazanDinamo Moscow3213Chemik PoliceGrot Budowlani ŁódźDevelopres SkyRes Rzeszów61-1Voléro Zürich7112Igor Gorgonzola NovaraImoco Volley Conegliano81-1ASPTT Mulhouse91-1CSM Volei Alba Blaj101-1Agel Prostějov111-1Vizura Ruma28-11Maritza Plovdiv 1.Team qualified via Champions League qualification.
Format League round A round-robin format (each team plays every other team in its pool twice, once home and once away) where the 16 participating teams are drawn into 4 pools of 4 teams each. The four pool winners and the best two second placed teams among all pools qualify for the . The organizer of the is determined at the conclusion League Round and qualify directly for the Final Four.
The standings is determined by the number of matches won. In case of a tie in the number of matches won by two or more teams, their ranking is based on the following criteria: result points (points awarded for results: 3 points for 3–0 or 3–1 wins, 2 points for 3–2 win, 1 point for 2–3 loss); set quotient (the number of total sets won divided by the number of total sets lost); points quotient (the number of total points scored divided by the number of total points lost); results of head-to-head matches between the teams in question.
Playoffs A knockout format where the 6 qualified teams are each draw into one of the 3 matches with each match consisting of two legs (home and away). Result points are awarded for each leg (3 points for 3–0 or 3–1 wins, 2 points for 3–2 win, 1 point for 2–3 loss). After two legs, the team with the most result points advances to the . In case the teams are tied after two legs, a is played immediately at the completion of the second leg. The Golden Set winner is the team that first obtains 15 points, provided that the points difference between the two teams is at least 2 points (thus, the Golden Set is similar to a tiebreak set in a normal match).
Final Four A single-elimination format where the three winners of the Playoffs are joined by the Final Four hosts and draw to play the semifinals (winners advance to the final and losers to the 3rd place match). In case two teams from the same country qualify for the semifinals, they will play each other.
Pools composition Drawing of lots was held on 17 November 2017 in Moscow, Russia.
Pool APool BPool CPool D Voléro Zürich Fenerbahçe SK Istanbul Chemik Police Dinamo Moscow ASPTT Mulhouse Igor Gorgonzola Novara Dinamo Kazan Galatasaray SK Istanbul CSM Volei Alba Blaj Agel Prostějov Vizura Ruma Grot Budowlani Łódź Developres SkyRes Rzeszów Imoco Volley Conegliano Maritza Plovdiv VakıfBank Istanbul
Squads
League round All times are local.
Pool A
Pool B
Pool C
Pool D
Playoffs Drawing of lots held in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg on 2 March 2018.
Playoff 6
First leg
Second leg
Final four Organizer: CSM Volei Alba Blaj Venue: Sala Polivalentă, Bucharest, Romania
Semifinals
3rd place match
Final
Final standing
RankTeam VakıfBank Istanbul CSM Volei Alba Blaj Imoco Volley Conegliano4 Galatasaray SK Istanbul5 Voléro Zürich Igor Gorgonzola Novara Dinamo Kazan8 Chemik Police9 Developres SkyRes Rzeszów Fenerbahçe SK Istanbul Vizura Ruma Dinamo Moscow13 ASPTT Mulhouse Maritza Plovdiv Agel Prostějov Grot Budowlani Łódź
(C) Qualified for the 2018 FIVB Club World Championship
Roster for Final FourÖrge, Kırdar Sonsırma, Özbay, Zhu, Akman Çalışkan, Robinson, Gürkaynak, Aykaç, Slöetjes, Aydemir Akyol, Karakurt, Rašić, Şenoğlu, GüneşHead coach Guidetti
Awards
Most valuable player Gözde Kırdar Sonsırma (VakıfBank Istanbul) Best setter Joanna Wołosz (Imoco Volley Conegliano) Best outside spikers Zhu Ting (VakıfBank Istanbul) Kimberly Hill (Imoco Volley Conegliano) Best middle blockers Milena Rašić (VakıfBank Istanbul) Nneka Onyejekwe (CSM Volei Alba Blaj) Best opposite spiker Ana Cleger (CSM Volei Alba Blaj) Best libero Hatice Gizem Örge (VakıfBank Istanbul)
Record
On 6 May 2018, in the final game of the 2018 Champions League, VakıfBank Istanbul attained the record of the best score in a volleyball European cup final since the Rally Point System was adopted, with only 45 points lost. Consequently, CSM Volei Alba Blaj holds the record for the worst score.
References
External links Official website