Switzerland are looking forward to earn their spurs against the best of the best of the game
Montreux, Switzerland, August 30, 2018- Timo Lippuner's Switzerland stand on the brink of completing a successful qualification campaign for the European Championship for the first time, a 3-0 win over Albania leaving the Swiss needing a point from their final two matches to qualify.
It has been a very successful month for the young Swiss squad. Timo Lippuner’s youngster-studded squad stunned everybody booking three wins in four games and being conly one point away from the CEV Volleyball European Championship.
With qualification resuming in January, merely group favourites Croatia and neighbours Austria stand in the way of Lippuner's side and a first qualification success for the competition, with the Alpine nation only having featured previously by virtue of being hosts in 2013.
With the CEV having made the move of increasing the number of qualifying nations for the 2019 showpiece from 16 to 24, the Swiss are on the verge of taking advantage and booking their spot at Europe's top table.
Their latest victory in Tirana, their third in four games, saw them complete the double over their Albanian counterparts, following their earlier whitewash of their opponents on home soil. Laura Künzler was once again a star in the rout with a 21 point haul, whilst middle blockers Gabi Schottroff & Madlaina Matter formed an iron curtain in defence, contributing 14 and 11 points respectively. A remarkable inclusion in their squad was 19-year-old wing spiker Korina Perkovac, who was only handed her first senior cap this summer, following a string of impressive performances in the Swiss youth championships and Senior Divisions over the last two years, culminating in a lucrative move to top tier domestic club Kanti Schaffhausen.
And Lippuner's arsenal of Swiss talent will aim to come of age and make a statement of intent ahead of their return to European Championship Qualification at the 33rd Montreux Masters, where they will benefit from the experience of doing battle with some of the finest international talent in the sport on the Swiss Riviera between 4 to 9 September.