The German volleyball players once again avoided their first defeat at the Olympic qualification tournament in Lodz, Poland, with another show of strength and can continue to hope for a ticket to the Summer Games in Paris.
National coach Vital Heynen’s team defeated Slovenia 3-2 (17:25, 25:21, 19:25, 25:16, 15:12) on the fourth matchday, but had a very difficult time against their still winless opponent.
After being down 1:2, the DVV team struggled into the tiebreak, where they were down 5:10, but managed to turn things around with eight points in a row. The Italian legionnaires Lina Alsmeier from Il Bisonte Florence and Camilla Weitzel from Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri were the most successful German players with 19 points each.
The German team won the first three games and almost lost their victory against South Korea on Tuesday despite leading 2-0 in the set. Ultimately, the DVV team prevailed 3-2.
After the Slovenia game, the game continues against the Polish hosts, who recently eliminated Germany at the home European Championships. After that, duels with Italy and the USA await. The tournament will only award two tickets for the Summer Games in Paris next year. The German women last qualified for the Olympics in 2004.