The German volleyball players meet the Netherlands in the round of 16 at the European Championships. On Wednesday evening, the game against co-hosts Italy was narrowly lost.
This was already certain a few hours before the last preliminary round match of the selection of the German Volleyball Association (DVV) on Wednesday evening (06.09.23, 9 p.m.) against world and European champions Italy.
Good fight with a narrow defeat
In the last group game, the German volleyball world and European champions brought Italy to the brink of defeat, but had to admit defeat in the end. Coach Michal Winiarski’s team lost 2:3 (22:25, 25:23, 22:25, 25:14, 12:15) in a sold-out arena in Ancona on Wednesday evening.
Winiarski rested his exceptional 38-year-old player Georg Grozer and a few other players for the round of 16. Despite this, the German team had a strong start and was well ahead in the first set. But the Italians, who mostly used their best players, improved and passed. In the second round, too, the Germans played freely and equalized.
Italy won set three before the DVV selection dominated the second half. In particular, the serve of the Germans brought many points. Moritz Karlitzek’s team didn’t give up in the tie-break, but narrowly lost.
The DVV team is definitely third in the group
The game against the Netherlands takes place in Bari on Saturday or Sunday. Germany, ranked 14th in the world, finished third in Group A regardless of the outcome of the duel with the co-hosts in the evening, while the Netherlands ended Season C with four wins and one loss in second behind Poland, the world champions from 2014 and 2018.