display
Bestensee (dpa) - The Netzhoppers KW-Bestensee could not fulfill their dream of winning the first title in the club's history, but the pride remains.
When the players hung the silver medal around each other's necks at the awards ceremony after the volleyball cup final in Mannheim on Sunday, the mood was rather depressed.
«Everyone is very, very sad.
It's just a shame, ”said diagonal attacker Johannes Mönnich after the 0: 3 (23:25, 21:25, 22:25) defeat against United Volleys Frankfurt.
Nevertheless, after the match ball transformed by Tim Grozer from Frankfurt, coach Christophehaben stated: "I am proud of my team."
After all, the Brandenburg Bundesliga team has received a lot of attention even without the final triumph in the cup this season.
Three favorite falls in the three rounds of the cup before the final, all of them dramatically fought hard after falling 2-0 sets against Düren, Berlin Volleys and Herrsching - that made an impression in volleyball circles.
Attacker Dirk Westphal looked back somewhat wistfully at the Netzhoppers' path through the cup season: "It was a very nice trip, but if you don't reach the goal, something is missing."
A sticking point: "We didn't manage to score in the crucial moments," regretted Mönnich.
The Netzhoppers gambled away a better outcome of the final when they could not use a 19:14 lead in the first round to win the set.
display
In the final the Netzhoppers had their best player, the Canadian Byron Keturakis, with them again.
It was the 25-year-old's first outing after having had to pause for weeks due to back problems.
The player could not build on the convincing performance before his injury.
"He felt pain again from the middle of the second set," said coach eighth.
However, Keturakis held out until the end.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210301-99-637525 / 2
Netzhoppers, players
display
Cup, men, schedule 2020/21
Netzhoppers website