The BR Volleys made it into the knockout round of the Volleyball Champions League early.
The BR volleys have made it into the knockout rounds of the Volleyball Champions League early. On the penultimate matchday of the group phase, the German champions won 3-1 (25:22, 25:22, 22:25, 26:24) at Benfica Lisbon on Wednesday after a tough fight.
Regardless of the outcome of their last game against Piacenza next Wednesday, it is already clear that with their three wins and ten points, the Berliners are at least guaranteed to progress as third in the five groups.
The final phase becomes a crime thriller
The volleys were wide awake at the start against the still winless Portuguese. They gave their opponents trouble with high serve pressure. Middle blocker Timo Tammemann gave the first three-point lead (9:6) with a one-block, and later captain Ruben Schott got the first set point at 24:20.
However, after the BR Volleys had won the second round after Timothee Carle converted a set point, they began to falter. Thanks to a block from Schott, they were still ahead 16:15 in the third period, but after that Benfica took control.
The final phase of the game ultimately turned into a thriller. First, the Portuguese missed two set points in the tiebreak at 24:22 and thus at least won a point. With strong nerves and outstanding block defense, the BR volleys equalized and, after leading 25:24, they used the first match point to decide.
Broadcast: rbb24-Inforadio, January 10, 2024, 10:15 p.m
