The successful streak of the Berlin Volleys has broken. After 23 wins in a row in the volleyball league across the seasons, the German champions conceded a deserved win on the penultimate day of the intermediate round against SWD powervolleys Düren on Wednesday evening with a 1:3 (22:25, 23:25, 30:28, 17:25) win Defeat.
However, it was already clear beforehand that the BR Volleys would move into the playoffs beginning on March 12th as first in the table.
Coach Cedric Enard’s team presented themselves six days after theirs Gala appearance in the Champions League in St. Petersburg (3:2) against the Dürener in weak condition. Benjamin Patch in particular had trouble asserting himself against the well-disposed block of the guests. Although the team caught up a six-point deficit (5:11) in the first set, they tied again at 19:19, but it wasn’t enough for more. Even after a 14:10 lead in the second round, the BR Volleys game did not stabilize.
The highlight of the game was the third set. The Rhinelanders were 24:21 ahead, but were unable to use five match points in the period that followed. On the other hand was Sergey Grankin successful with the second set ball for the BR Volleys. Shortly before, Grankin had seen the red card at 26:26 because he had complained about the linesman’s wrong decision. Red cards are penalized in volleyball with one point for the opponent.
The hosts, however, did not inspire the set win. With a lot of passion, Düren then brought the victory very confidently over time.