The Berlin Volleys had to do without training for weeks because of Corona. Now they meet SWD power volleys Düren. Despite the good record against the rival, Volleys manager Niroomand is cautious: the pre-Christmas level is far from being reached.
Games between the Berlin Volleys and the SWD powervolleys Düren have long been among the classics of the volleyball league. On Saturday (8 p.m.) both teams will meet in the Arena Kreis Düren for the 79th time. The record speaks for the capital club with 53 wins and 25 defeats.
“As far as the result this time is concerned, I dare not make any predictions. Due to the whole history, chance will certainly also play a role,” says Kaweh Niroomand, Managing Director at BR Volleys.
The corona virus has thrown both teams out of rhythm. The players from Düren haven’t had any match practice this year, while the BR Volleys played the first of a total of six games in the intermediate round last Saturday against Friedrichshafen (3-1).
“One more game doesn’t bring us any significant advantage,” says Niroomand, “because unlike Düren, we had to stop training for weeks.”
At the restart against Friedrichshafen, despite the win, the BR Volleys were still a long way from the high-speed volleyball with which they had impressively dominated the season before.
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“We need at least four or five more games to get at least halfway to the level that we had before Christmas,” Niroomand warns patience.
The memory of the spectacular first set in the main round first leg in Düren in mid-November is still omnipresent. After an intensive exchange of blows, the BR Volleys only successfully ended this round with an ace by Benjamin Patch at 37:35 and finally won 3:0.
The second leg was canceled due to the corona virus and was not made up for due to the premature termination of the main round.