Fino Kaposvár move one step away from Champions League history after sweeping Hartberg

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Fino Kaposvár are one step away from making history in the CEV Champions League after completing a convincing double victory over Austrian champions TSV Raiffeisen Hartberg.
Following their 3–0 home win in the first leg, the Hungarian side repeated the result on Austrian soil, winning 25:17, 28:26, 25:18 at the Stadtwerke-Hartberg-Halle to advance from the second qualifying round with a perfect 6–0 aggregate score in sets.

The visitors needed little time to take control of the return leg.
Hartberg initially made a promising start, opening up a four-point advantage in the first set, but Kaposvár gradually found its rhythm and turned the situation around. Once the Hungarian champions moved ahead, they maintained their pressure and closed the opening set 25–17, putting themselves within reach of qualification.
The second set proved to be the most demanding part of the evening: Kaposvár generally held a narrow advantage, but Hartberg refused to let the visitors pull away and fought back in the closing stages. The Austrian champions saved two set points to level the score at 24–24, then extended the contest beyond the usual 25-point mark. Kaposvár eventually found the decisive answers, scoring twice in succession after 26–26 to take the set 28–26. That result confirmed their passage to the next round and left Hartberg with no possibility of overturning the tie.
The third set brought another determined effort from the hosts, who managed to take the lead on several occasions. However, Kaposvár remained composed and, with the score level at 13–13, produced a decisive run of four consecutive points. The Hungarian side continued to dominate the closing stages, creating eight match points before converting the third to complete another straight-set victory.

Jacob Steele was once again Kaposvár’s leading scorer, finishing with 17 points. Gábor Bögöly contributed 11, while Maxim Grigoriev added eight and Connor Alexander Campbell scored nine. For Hartberg, Daniel Ratz-Michal led the team with nine points, followed by Đorđe Knežević with eight and Eldin Demirović with seven.
The match attracted 1,183 spectators.

Kaposvár’s qualification campaign has been particularly impressive: after overcoming Bosnia and Herzegovina’s OK Napredak Odžak in the opening round, winning 3–2 at home and 3–1 away, the Hungarian champions have now eliminated Hartberg without dropping a single set across the two matches.
Their progress is especially significant given that they had to cope with the absence of Patrik Hubicska, who suffered a serious knee ligament injury during the previous qualifying round and was expected to miss a substantial part of the season.
One more hurdle now separates Fino Kaposvár from the Champions League group stage. Their opponent in the third qualifying round will be the winner of the tie between Croatia’s Mladost Zagreb and Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia. Mladost took a 3–1 advantage from the first leg in Zagreb, with the return match scheduled for Wednesday in Sofia.

The stakes could hardly be higher.
No Hungarian men’s club has ever reached the Champions League group stage, meaning that Fino Kaposvár have the opportunity to write a new chapter in the country’s volleyball history.
After two commanding performances against the Austrian champions, they are now just one qualifying round away from achieving that milestone.

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🏆| 2026/27 CEV Champions League | Second Round

FIRST LEG

Tuesday November 3, 2026
📍Ministry of Emergency Situations Gym Baku
• 18.00 (Local Time) | Khilasedichi Baku (AZE) – Sporting CP Lisboa (POR) 2-3 (23:25, 25:19, 25:23, 23:25, 10:15)

Wednesday November 4, 2026
📍Dom Odbojke Bojan Stranic Zagreb
• 19.00 (Local Time) | Mladost Zagreb (CRO) – Levski Sofia (BUL) 3-1 (25:15, 25:19, 17:25, 25:23)
📍SaZa Topsporthal Doetinchem
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Orion Stars Doetinchem (NED) – ACH Volley Ljubljana (SLO) 0-3 (23:25, 26:28, 14:25)

Thursday November 5, 2026
📍Kaposvár Arena
• 18.00 (Local Time) | Fino Kaposvár (HUN) – TSV Raiffeisen Hartberg (AUT) 3-0 (25:22, 25:18, 25:19)

SECOND LEG

👉🏼Tuesday November 10, 2026
📍Stadtwerke Halle Hartberg
• 18.00 (Local Time) | TSV Raiffeisen Hartberg (AUT) – Fino Kaposvár (HUN) 0-3 (17:25, 26:28, 18:25)

Wednesday November 11, 2026
📍Pavilhão João Rocha SCP Lisboa
• 19.30 (Local Time) | Sporting CP Lisboa (POR) – Khilasedichi Baku (AZE)
📍Levski Sofia Sport Hall
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Levski Sofia (BUL) – Mladost Zagreb (CRO)

Thursday November 12, 2026
📍Sportna Dvorana Tivoli Ljubljana
• 20.00 (Local Time) | ACH Volley Ljubljana (SLO) – Orion Stars Doetinchem (NED)

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