For the Berlin Recycling Volleys, the semi-finals of the Champions League are a long way off. The German volleyball series champion lost the quarter-final first leg against the favored Italian representative Sir Safety Perugia on Wednesday 1: 3 (18:25, 15:25, 25:23, 17:25).
In the second leg next Wednesday (8:00 p.m.), coach Cedric Enard’s team needs a 3-1 or 3-0 win in a foreign hall to force a so-called “golden set”. In the deciding set, 15 points would be enough to win.
The second German representative, VfB Friedrichshafen, will fight against the Polish runner-up Jastrzebski Wegiel on Thursday (7:00 p.m.) for a place in the semi-finals. The second leg of the record champions in Poland will also take place next week.
The German volleyball players started the second week of the Nations League with a win over the Netherlands. The team of national coach Vital Heynen, which had only won one of four games in the first phase of the tournament, prevailed in Brasilia 3:1 (25:20, 25:19, 12:25, 25:22). This was revenge for the round of 16 at the EM 2021.
In the second of three group phases, the selection of the German Volleyball Association (DVV) in Brazil meets Italy (June 17), Turkey (June 18) and the Dominican Republic (June 19). The best eight of the 16 teams qualify for the quarter-finals. Last year, Germany took tenth place.
The Nations League is also considered an endurance test on the way to the World Cup in the Netherlands and Poland (September 23rd to October 15th). In addition, points can be collected for the world rankings.
The German volleyball players said goodbye to the short Nations League break with another sense of achievement. The team of the new national coach Michael Winiarski won the fourth group game against Serbia in Ottawa, Canada, thanks to a catch-up race 3:2 (27:25, 25:27, 18:25, 28:26, 18:16) and celebrated their third victory .
In total, the Germans fended off four match balls, two of them in the fourth set. The best scorers of the Winiarski team were captain Christian Fromm and Linus Weber with 18 points each.
The selection of the German Volleyball Association (DVV) had previously won against Canada (3-0) and Bulgaria (3-2) and suffered a 1-3 defeat against Argentina in the second game. The second of a total of three group stages continues on June 22 (13:00 CET) in the Philippines against Italy.
For the new national volleyball coach Michal Winiarski, his competitive debut in the Nations League is of great importance in view of the World Cup season. The 38-year-old wants to use the games “to further sharpen our new system under competitive conditions”. Winiarski only took over the post at the beginning of April after Andrea Giani left at short notice.
“I’m really looking forward to getting started. Of course it’s not that easy to change a lot in such a short time, but the Nations League will also be an opportunity to get practice and develop as a team,” said Winiarski in an interview with SID .
The national coach does not have much time to prepare for the World Cup. The tournament, originally scheduled to take place in Russia in late summer, will now be held in Winiarski’s native Poland and Slovenia. The exact schedule has not yet been determined.
From Tuesday, there will be three group phases with four games each for the selection of the German Volleyball Association (DVV) in the Nations League. The game starts on Wednesday night (1.30 a.m. CET) in Ottawa against hosts Canada. Other opponents in the first week are Bulgaria, Serbia and Argentina.
The best eight of the 16 teams qualify for the quarter-finals, last season Germany finished 13th. “If we make it to the finals, that would be a great thing for us,” said Winiarski. Above all, the Nations League will “help him a lot in preparing for the next part of the season.”
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