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Berlin (AP) - Annoyed the favorites, but missed the surprise: The Berlin Volleys have reached their limits in European volleyball.
"We weren't far away, but our weaknesses were clearly shown," said manager Kaweh Niroomand, commenting on the 1: 3 (19:25, 23:25, 28:26, 17:25) defeat against Italy's representatives Trentino Volleys in the quarter-finals -Picture of the Champions League: "It seemed to me that our players had too much respect for their opponents and couldn't play freely."
This means that the chances of a semi-final entry for Berliners have shrunk to a minimum.
In the second leg next Thursday in Trento, the BR Volleys would first have to win 3-0 or 3-1 and then prevail in a so-called golden set.
«Trentino is vulnerable.
We'll try everything again ”, promised Berlin's French attacker Timothee Carle militantly.
Mid-blocker Anton Brehme does not see the situation as completely hopeless either: "We are going full throttle again in the second leg, but we have to improve in terms of cleverness and enthusiasm."
A fundamental problem is how the circles of Trentino's top attacker Nimir Abdel-Aziz can be disrupted.
The 2.01 meter tall Dutchman became a solo entertainer in the Max-Schmeling-Halle.
He sunk 28 balls in the opponent's field, scoring more than a quarter of all points for his team.
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"We weren't stable enough to assume," complained Niroomand.
Even the third set, won with 28:26, did not give the BR Volleys any decisive boost.
“Trentino put us under extreme pressure,” admitted Carle.
He therefore often saw his own team in a kind of self-defense situation: "Sometimes we could only try to somehow keep the ball in play."
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210226-99-602149 / 2
CEV Champions League, fixtures
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Volleyball Bundesliga, 2020/21 season schedule
BR Volleys, squad