On the last first round of the Bundesliga intermediate round, the German volleyball champions defeated the heavily depleted United Volleys Frankfurt 3-0 (25:21, 25:12, 25:23) on Saturday.
Three days after the cup semifinals at VfB Friedrichshafen, the Berlin Volleys were able to record another success. In front of 1261 spectators in the Max-Schmeling-Halle, Samuel Tuia used the third match point to win. In a week, both teams will see each other again for the second leg in Frankfurt.
The Hessians had just eight healthy field players plus a libero available. They didn’t even have a trained setter with them. Only on the day of the game did they travel the approximately 550 kilometers from the Main metropolis to the Spree by bus.
Berlin’s coach Cedric Enard ordered his wing attackers Ruben Schott and Tim Carle to rest. Their positions were taken by Samuel Tuia and Cody Kessel. Tuia, in particular, recommended himself with sweeping attacking actions for further missions.
In the first set, the BR Volleys had an unexpectedly difficult time against the last contingent of the guests. Only a two-man block by Jeffrey Jendryk and Nehemiah Mote to 22:18 finally opened the door to winning the set. With an improved serve, strong block defense and consistent exploitation of chances, the capital club worked out a comfortable ten-point lead for the first time in the second half at 16:6, which the team extended to win the set 25:12.
The BR Volleys got into trouble again when they were 8:13 behind in the third round. But the team struggled. After Kessel’s successful attack, she was ahead again at 16:15 and narrowly won this set as well.