Volleyball tournament: After victory over Chile: DVV team required in the World Cup group final

When the World Cup obligation was made against Chile, the German volleyball players cheered in a circle. Immediately afterwards, captain Georg Grozer already had the decisive group finals against Slovenia. “Step by Step,” he called to his teammate. It should go step by step.

He was “very relieved”, said the 40 -year -old exceptional player after the 3-0 (25:17, 25:23, 25:21) against the South American outsider. “Finally we won a game. This is also very important for the head. We had to fight, we took steps forward,” said the diagonal attacker. “But we have to be even better in one or two things that we can ultimately defeat Slovenia.” With 19 points, Grozer was once again Germany’s most successful attacker.

Due to the clear opening of Bulgaria, the initial situation of the Germans is further complicated. In the last group game on Wednesday (3:00 p.m./ZDF stream), the team can secure the knockout-o. round with a win. But it is a high hurdle. The Slovenes came under the last four in the last two editions of the Nations League and also stood in the quarter -finals at Olympia in Paris.

After a good start, the consistency is missing

In Pasay City (Philippines), the selection of the German Volleyball Association (DVV) against outsider Chile was noted that she wanted to ensure clear conditions early on. With a lot of pressure on the serve and fast offensive actions, Germany quickly built up a comfortable lead.

But in the second round, the team of national coach Michal Winiarski had greater effort again and was in the back for a long time. “We were very aggressive at the beginning and then we went a bit in the head,” said Grozer. “We just have to learn that we have to stay more constant.”

The focus returned in time and internet star Tobias Krick converted the set ball. The DVV selection continued to be difficult. In the crucial phase of the third set, it was Anton Brehme who provided a block and a strong serve for a small cushion. Another block brought the sovereign victory at the end. “In such games, a certain tension is normal, so sometimes the looseness is missing,” said Moritz Reichert.

However, the German team will not be able to afford such weak phases against the Slovenes. “Unfortunately, we still lack the accuracy in some places. We still have to fix that until Wednesday. Then everything is possible,” said Krick. Captain Grozer was confident as usual: “Now we’re going all in.”