Courageous against the Überteam
German volleyball players miss the EM coup
08/24/2023, 9:35 p.m
With a defeat against the big favorites from Turkey, the German volleyball players end the home preliminary round of the European Championships in Düsseldorf. Due to the third defeat in a row, the team ends up third in its group and meets the strong Poles in the round of 16.
The German volleyball players missed a sensation in their last European Championship home game. At the end of the group phase in Düsseldorf, the team of national coach Vital Heynen lost 0:3 (15:25, 20:25, 26:28) in the sold-out Castello to the clearly favored Turks despite a courageous performance. “We were so close in the last sentence,” said captain Lena Stigrot after the emotional duel: “It’s a shame that it wasn’t quite enough.”
After two wins at the start of the tournament, it was the third defeat in a row for the German team. With seven points, the selection of the German Volleyball Association (DVV) only made it into the round of 16 on a disappointing third place. In the first knockout round, Germany meets Poland, number seven in the world, on Monday (5 p.m. or 8.30 p.m./Sportdeutschland.TV) in Brussels.
The Czech Republic’s previous 3-0 win against Sweden made the starting position clear for the German team: Only a win against world number one Turkey would still mean a jump to second place in the table. The Germans started bravely in the almost impossible task against the Nations League winner around top star Melissa Vargas, but the Turkish girls’ class of play quickly made itself felt. The favorite won the first set 25:15, the many Turkish fans in the hall loudly cheered the lead.
Heynen’s team kept up well in the second round, after a hard-fought initial phase the score was 10:10. But in the long run, the resistance of the co-hosts against the massive attacking waves of Turkey also decreased here, as a result it was 0:2 after a 20:25 from a German point of view. With their backs to the wall, the DVV women faced the impending defeat in the third set, but the Turks didn’t give up and converted their third match point. The German women missed a set ball in the third round.