With the first defeat of the season under their belt and without a coach or captain, the BR Volleys reacted confidently in the Volleyball Bundesliga in Düren. “We’re very exhausted because the trip to Ankara was more exhausting than we thought and we didn’t get much sleep,” said outside attacker Ruben Schott after the 3-1 win over pursuer SWD Powervolleys Düren, “we’re happy that we’re after a allowed to go home for a week”.
The national defending champion put away the first defeat of the season in the Champions League on Wednesday and the metacarpal fracture of captain Angel Trinidad, as well as the absence of Cedric Enard due to the corona. The Frenchman had tested positive on Saturday morning, as had libero Adam Kowalski. Nevertheless, the Berlin hosts swept Düren off the floor 25:10 in the first set.
“We got off to a really great start, despite the worries beforehand. I always believed in the team after the second set,” said coach Lucio Oro, who had represented Enard on the touchline and saw a disappointing second set from his team at 18:25. “It was clear to me that Düren would come back. Extreme problems in the second set, but caught us again,” said Schott, who was voted the most valuable player of the game.
Now it’s against Lüneburg in the cup
In the balanced sets three and four, the volleys underlined their class and had the better end for themselves. “From the third set it was a typical point-by-point match without any lengthy series. In the end we trusted in our strengths and prevailed. Taking those three points here was anything but easy and makes us very happy,” said Orio. Schott was also “satisfied” and looked ahead: “We are happy to finally be able to drive home with this important victory, where we want to beat Lüneburg in the cup on Thursday.”
The Volleys recently managed a home win against SVG Lüneburg in the Bundesliga and they were also able to prevail in the semi-finals of the Bouncehouse Cup. However, the cup is not necessarily the favorite competition of Berliners. It’s been three years since they secured the trophy. Last year, long-term rivals VfB Friedrichshafen won and before that Frankfurt prevailed.
At that time, the Volleys were eliminated surprisingly early against the Netzhoppers Königs Wusterhausen. In this respect, this competition has already held one or two surprises in store in the past. The aim of this season, however, is “to fight for all national titles”, as managing director Kaweh Niroomand made clear. In this respect, the volleys should want to prevent another surprise at all costs. (tsp/dpa)
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Source: Tagesspiegel
Brayden White, a veteran sports writer at Global Happening, brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sports section. With over a decade of experience, he is committed to delivering high-quality coverage of the latest games and events.
