Berlin area invites you to freestyle
1. Volleyball Bundesliga: Hachinger Löwen as a guest in Königs Wusterhausen.
Unterhaching – The first half of the Bundesliga main round is coming to an end and the volleyball team from TSV Haching Munich can at least claim to have fulfilled their duty with a 3-0 win at bottom VCO Berlin. But the lions actually wanted more this season. The last preliminary round opponent seems to be the most suitable for this freestyle: On Sunday (5.30 p.m.) the Hachinger will be guests at the Energiequelle Netzhoppers KW-Bestensee, as the team from Königs Wusterhausen outside the gates of Berlin is officially called. The home side have only won once so far, also against the youth squad from the capital. Philipp Schumann clearly emphasizes the importance of the duel third from last versus penultimate: “The game against the Netzhoppers is really important because they are only one point ahead of us and we could overtake them if we win. So that should be our goal,” says the TSV captain.
Although the Brandenburgers have only one win to their credit, they are considered the clear favourites. After all, they got a fourth point for the classification in a 2:3 home defeat against the current fourth-placed Giesen, and were also able to celebrate set wins in tight games against defending champions Berlin Recycling Volleys and in Herrsching. Haching, on the other hand, has not yet been able to celebrate an additional partial success. At the Bounce House Cup, the preparatory tournament just before the start of the season, the Netzhoppers even won against the strong teams from Düren and Lüneburg. With four Americans, one Canadian and one Australian in the squad, the side may have potential. Veteran Dirk Westphal, 36, won bronze for Germany at the 2014 World Cup, and setter Mario Schmidgall, formerly in Bühl and Frankfurt, is no stranger. The fact that they have not been able to exploit their opportunities in the league so far, even conceding a nasty home clap against Lüneburg a few weeks ago with only 49 points scored, was also due to personal problems. “Things have been far from ideal for them so far. That’s why we have to play well and hopefully we can then take points with us,” said Schumann in a combative manner.
However, the diagonal player knows that there are still problems in his own ranks, which is also partly due to the physical condition of some players, even after the scheduled weekend without games. Paul Gehringer, Patrick Rupprecht and Jere Heiskanen are ill, Quentin Zeller, who has a foot injury, was only able to train to a limited extent. “I think the break was definitely good for us. Unfortunately, we still have battered and sick players at the moment,” says Schumann. And so the Hachingers are still lagging behind in the freestyle. “Unfortunately, we are often only at eye level with our opponents at times and cannot call for a certain period of time. We’re lacking consistency there,” concedes Schumann, who is nevertheless optimistic about the right approach: “We have to concentrate on our own game and then hopefully that’ll be enough for a win.”