The German volleyball players suffered a severe setback at their home European Championship and missed the early entry into the round of 16.
The team of national coach Vital Heynen was surprisingly defeated by outsiders Sweden 1:3 (25:13, 16:25, 18:25, 18:25) in front of 2250 spectators in the Düsseldorf Castello and made a hard stopover with the first defeat.
“We know what we can do. We have to get that back in our heads quickly,” said butterfly captain Lena Stigrot: “We’re still a young team. We’ll do better on Tuesday.”
With six points, the co-hosts still have very good chances of progressing, on Tuesday the selection of the German Volleyball Association (DVV) will have the next opportunity in a duel with the Czech Republic (8:00 p.m. / Sportdeutschland.TV). With regard to a possible Olympic qualification next year, however, Germany wanted to avoid slipping up against supposed underdogs at all costs.
Heynen didn’t change his starting six from the 3-1 win over Azerbaijan – and his faith was rewarded. The “butterflies” around Stigrot started furiously and quickly gained a clear lead. Even after the strong start, Germany remained highly concentrated, without much Swedish resistance, the first set went to the co-hosts with 25:13.
In the second round, a completely different picture presented itself – but this was mainly due to the opponent. Led by point collector Isabelle Haak, the Swedes fought their way back into the game with great force, resulting in a 16:25 from a German perspective. The third set of a now highly emotional game also went to Sweden with 18:25.
With their backs to the wall, the Germans braced themselves against the impending defeat, with every point won, a cheer went through the Castello. But the momentum was now entirely on the Swedish side.