European Championship knockout despite catching up
Germany is giving the Netherlands a big fight
September 9, 2023, 11:55 p.m
Germany’s volleyball players fail in the European Championships after a tough fight in the round of 16. In Bari, Italy, national coach Michal Winiarski’s team lost 2-3 to the Netherlands despite catching up and were eliminated in the first knockout round.
The German volleyball players were bitterly eliminated in the round of 16 at the European Championships. Coach Michal Winiarski’s team was unable to successfully catch up against the Netherlands on Saturday evening in Bari (Italy) and lost 2:3 (20:25, 23:25, 25:22, 25:18, 12:15). . Exceptional player Georg Grozer, who was rested in the last preliminary round game, came back into the team. Johannes Tille started as a setter. Captain Lukas Kampa initially sat outside.
The German team missed the start. The Dutch were quickly clearly ahead. “We need to relax a little bit,” Winiarski said during a timeout. Too many mistakes, too little serve pressure. A little catch-up came too late. In the second half, the Dutch pulled away again with a series. But Grozer got into the game better and almost single-handedly kept his team in the set – without the final success. But the Germans then got more access and improved acceptance. Denys Kaliberda was particularly effective in attack. The Dutch, on the other hand, lost their flow.
In the tie-break, diagonal attacker Nimir Abdel-Aziz, who did not play sets three and four, gave the Dutch a small cushion with his extremely fast serves. Points from Grozer and an ace from Ruben Schott brought the Germans back into contention. But Abdel-Aziz gave his team the decisive advantage. A win against our neighbors would not only have been important for the European Championships. The Netherlands are a few places ahead of Germany in the world rankings, which could ultimately be decisive for Olympic qualification for Paris 2024.