The German volleyball women suffered a defeat in the first international match of an important year.
Coach Vital Heynen’s team lost to the Ukraine in a friendly at the Sportforum Hohenschönhausen in Berlin by 2:3 (20:25, 21:25, 25:20, 25:15, 8:15).
In the year of the European Championships at home in Düsseldorf in August and the Olympic qualifying tournament in Poland from mid-September, it was the first time the team around captain Anna Pogany had decided where they were going. The German Volleyball Association is supporting the Ukrainian association, which is also suffering from the Russian war in Ukraine, with a fundraiser.
The German team has been preparing for the summer at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Kienbaum since the beginning of May. At the end of next week, the team will travel to the first games of the Volleyball Nations League in Japan.
The world ranking points to be collected there are of particular importance because they can be decisive for the Olympic qualification.