The Berlin Recycling Volleys were shown their limits in the quarter-finals of the Volleyball Champions League. In the first leg, the German champions deservedly lost 3-1 (18:25, 15:25, 25:23, 17:25) to the highly-favored club world champions from Perugia on Wednesday evening. The second leg next Wednesday in Perugia, Italy, will decide who will reach the semi-finals.
In front of the season’s record crowd of 8,213 spectators in the Max-Schmeling-Halle, there were considerable quality differences between the two teams over long stretches. With the third round won, the Berliners at least made a sign of respect.
Against the best in the world
In the Bundesliga, the BR Volleys are number one. In the quarter-finals of the Champions League, they now face number one in the world: Perugia. The Italians are the clear favourites, but not unbeatable. By Lynn Kraemermore
Volleys have to be demolished quickly
At first, the hosts kept up well. After an attack by Marek Sotola, they even led by two points (8:6). But the Italians, cleverly led by setter Simone Gianelli, quickly found their line. After a two-man block by Gianelli and Flavio Gualberto against Timothee Carle from Berlin to make it 14:17, Perugia finally acted confidently and continued to improve the result from then on.
After the first set, which was ultimately clearly lost, the BR volleys sometimes seemed overwhelmed in the second round. The assumption found no means against the outstanding serving Ukrainian Oleh Plotnytsky, even promising attacks from Sotola often stood in the way of the guest block.
The substitution of Cody Kessel gradually brought some life back into the BR Volleys game. In the third set, the team also benefited from the opponent’s decreasing grip. Under the frenetic cheers of the spectators, setter Johannes Tille shortened the lead to 1:2 with an ace on the first set point. Warned by this, the Italians immediately turned up the heat again and finally created the basis for the four-set win with a service series by their star player Wilfredo Leon up to 12:17.
Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, March 8th, 2023, 10:15 p.m
