The Swiss women's volleyball team are competing in the second installment of the European Championship qualifiers this week. Lauren Bertolacci's team will face a test against Germany and Finland.
06.08.2025, 05:01
06.08.2025, 07:07
SDA
Six years after the home European Championships, the Swiss women's national team qualified for the finals for the first time in 2019 - and has not missed a tournament since. But this time it will be tight.
In the two-part qualifiers, the Swiss women are trailing in Group A after half of their stint. They opened their campaign a year ago with a 3-2 win in Finland. However, they were far from a point in the 3-0 defeat at home to Germany.
Exploit needed
Only the group winners and the five best group runners-up qualify for the European Championship. "In purely mathematical terms, our chances are unfortunately very slim - that's the reality," says national coach Lauren Bertolacci ahead of the second legs in Germany on Wednesday and against Finland in Schönenwerd on Sunday.
After the Finns surprised the group favorites Germany on Saturday with a 3:1 win, Switzerland even dropped to third place. It would now be all the more important to get at least a point against Germany as well. "It will be a big challenge for us, but we are ready and will give everything to achieve our goals," says Bertolacci.
Trio returns
The match will be played in Wiesbaden on Wednesday. The Hessian capital is a special place for outside attacker Laura Dervisaj-Künzler. The 28-year-old from Aargau, who has already traveled far and wide as a volleyball player with stints abroad in Turkey, France, Italy and Germany, caused a sensation as a diligent point scorer at VC Wiesbaden in the 2021/22 season - and also received her marriage proposal in the city.
Dervisaj-Künzler, along with Maja Storck and passeuse Oriane Hämmerli, was recently absent from the successful campaign in the European Silver League, which ended with Switzerland's first triumph in a European competition. The aim now is to build on the strong performances of June with the returning trio.
