The importance of the good start to the Olympic qualification was evident to the German volleyball players. The team started the tournament in Poland with two wins. After the disappointing European Championships, it was a more than welcome dose of self-confidence.
“We are proud and satisfied with the first two victories. Two important victories and games for us so that we could find our flow again after the European Championships,” said middle blocker Camilla Weitzel after the 3-1 win against Colombia.
“I think we made big steps yesterday and today,” said the 23-year-old. At the start, national coach Vital Heynen’s team defeated Thailand 3-0. The team comes from the collective and positions itself broadly when it comes to scoring. The one exceptional player that the absolute top nations have is not in the German squad.
After the successful Nations League and the European Championships, this is the third tournament for the German team this year. A marathon of appointments. Two tickets for Paris 2024 will be awarded in each of the three groups of eight in Poland, China and Japan. All group opponents play against each other once.
The tough opponents are still coming
Captain Anna Pogany saw the resilience in difficult game situations as a positive sign. A problem at the European Championships and a focus of the preparation in Kienbaum. “It was very important that we turned the second set around 15:19. That was the decisive phase of the game.
In sets three and four we showed that we are stronger,” said the 29-year-old Libera. “Now we plan to start the game better in the next matches.”
Because the favorites in the group with Italy, the USA and Poland only come at the end. In view of the strong competition, the selection of the German Volleyball Association is only an outsider. But victories against South Korea (Tuesday, 11.30 a.m.) and Slovenia (Wednesday, 8.30 p.m.) should almost be mandatory. “We’re happy about two wins and now we have a day to recover and then we want to really attack again,” said Pogany.
Because even if it’s not enough for one of the two direct Olympic tickets: every victory brings points for the world rankings. And this offers the second chance to qualify for the Olympics next June. It would be the first participation of German women since 2004.