Germany - Volleyball Bundesliga (VBL) 2016/17

  • Good job Bayer, thank you very much.
    Just to keep the "Ordnung" (my prussian heritage, i cant help :D ), i allowed myself to add VCO Berlin to the list.


    I will write a bit more later, after the Olympics, but as we already mentioned, Bühls transfers are really catching the eye this year. There are some good names on the roster and they should easily play a better role than last year.


    P.S.
    You forgot Adam Kocian on Lüneburg's roster

  • I was wondering where Enrico Zappoli would play this year and was surprised to see his name in the roster for Bühl. He's a talented guy and German league sounds good for him at the moment - spending two seasons on the bench for Ravenna probably wasn't that great for his development. Guess I'll try to catch some of their matches this season. :D

  • Solingen at the moment is a real mistery.


    Just checked their facebook page and found these articles:


    http://www.rp-online.de/nrw/st…beobachtung-aid-1.6177682
    http://www.solinger-tageblatt.…welpenschutz-6653945.html


    It says that the new coach will be announced within the next days and that the core of the squad will consist of "8-9 players from last year" and " 3 or 4 new players".
    So far, it looks all a bit improvised but we will see. They seem to be fairly optimistic. I would love to see Alex Walkenhorst (beach pro) in the squad. This could become entertaining :box: .

  • [...]i allowed myself to add VCO Berlin to the list.


    Thanks. You are perfectly right. I forgot that this will be a VCO season again.
    (For non Germans: VCO Berlin elite school, which represents about 90% of the Junior National Team plays in 1st league every second year to prepare for the European Championships. I think it's a great achievement)


    You forgot Adam Kocian on Lüneburg's roster


    Thanks again. Together we will fill up the information gaps.


    Greets.

  • Once again we will have some new US guys entering Bundesliga. Trying to exploit the know-how of this forum, i would be happy if some guys (SHAME, brahmin, elvis and others..) who are familiar with NCAA Volleyball could give their expertise on players listed below. Of course i am most interested in my Lüneburg guys 8) .


    Lüneburg
    Eric Fitterer (opposite)
    Michael Brinkley (libero)
    Cody Kessel (OH)


    Herrsching
    Matt Tarantino (opposite)


    Netzhoppers
    Taylor Hammond (setter)


  • I have to admit that I didn’t watch a lot of NCAA matches so I don’t have too much to share…
    I expect Brinkley to have a very good season though. I think he’s a good passer + plays good defense (probably the next Erik Shoji?)
    For the other 4 players, I don’t have much knowledge but will keep an eye on them this season!


    I also have a question for you! Since you’re a Luneburg fan, I guess you watch quite a lot of their matches, do you think Kevorken’s good enough for the international level? I watched a few Luneburg matches and I think he’s a decent blocker but I am kinda confused he’s not given a chance in the NT?

  • Once again we will have some new US guys entering Bundesliga. Trying to exploit the know-how of this forum, i would be happy if some guys (SHAME, brahmin, elvis and others..) who are familiar with NCAA Volleyball could give their expertise on players listed below. Of course i am most interested in my Lüneburg guys 8) .


    Lüneburg
    Eric Fitterer (opposite)
    Michael Brinkley (libero)
    Cody Kessel (OH)


    I saw Fitterer in Teruel last season and he wasn't impressive at all. Mostly he was coming from the bench as a sub for Barcala. Kessel played in Swiss team Schonenwerd as a starter I think, along with Australian NT OH Jordan Richards. Don't know how much both of them can help Luneburg, especially Fitterer doesn't look like a good player.

  • Thanks guys for your impressions :thumbup:


    I have to admit that I didn’t watch a lot of NCAA matches so I don’t have too much to share…
    I expect Brinkley to have a very good season though. I think he’s a good passer + plays good defense (probably the next Erik Shoji?)
    For the other 4 players, I don’t have much knowledge but will keep an eye on them this season!


    I also have a question for you! Since you’re a Luneburg fan, I guess you watch quite a lot of their matches, do you think Kevorken’s good enough for the international level? I watched a few Luneburg matches and I think he’s a decent blocker but I am kinda confused he’s not given a chance in the NT?


    That already sounds promising. If i am right, he has also been part of US NT program this year. People obviously see something in him. He will have to adapt though to the special conditions in Lüneburg`s small and flat gym....


    Regarding Kevorken, i would say that he is a very solid player. And i mean "solid" in a very good way. Besides serving, where he is one of the best in the league, he usually delivers decent numbers but mostly without peaking out though. He hardly has a real bad match too and being the captain and leader of the team, he probably is one of most important and best liked players in the club.


    Regarding the level on which US NT is operating, imho this level might be a bit too much for him. I think he lacks a bit of athleticism and firepower in attack to survive on highest international level.


    I saw Fitterer in Teruel last season and he wasn't impressive at all. Mostly he was coming from the bench as a sub for Barcala. Kessel played in Swiss team Schonenwerd as a starter I think, along with Australian NT OH Jordan Richards. Don't know how much both of them can help Luneburg, especially Fitterer doesn't look like a good player.

    OK, thanks, we will see. So far, Lüneburg has done extremely well with their signings. One reason probably is that Hübner can make the guys play at their best level, so i have hopes that the guys won't disappoint.



  • Michael Brinkley is by far the best player of that bunch. I am baffled as to why he did not get picked up his first year out of college. His passing is consistent, and he is exceptional on defense.


    Cody Kessel came from back east and made a name for himself at Princeton. He was an All-American, and was one of the top players in the nation in terms of scoring points and kills per set. He is a bit shorter than Brian Cook. I didn't follow stats in Switzerland last season, just his updates from facebook.


    Tarantino is a bit shorter than Kevorken, but still manages to make himself an effective blocker. He played both MB and OPP at Pepperdine, but I will assume he will play MB in Germany. He played for Marv Dunphy, so he has been coached well leading up to this point.


    Eric Fitterer started out strong for Teurel, but then found himself on the bench. He had a good career in the NCAA, but I am not sure how effective he will be in the Bundesliga. He does have some potential and decent height for an opposite.


    Taylor Hammond never stood out to me, but I didn't see him play too awful much. The minute he didn't have Aaron Russell on his team was the first year in almost 20 that they did not make the NCAA tournament.

  • Michael Brinkley is by far the best player of that bunch. I am baffled as to why he did not get picked up his first year out of college.

    Due to the "local players" regulations in various leagues, i think the market for liberos is just very difficult. For example, i haven't heard yet that Erik Shoji has found a new club (?).


    Tarantino is a bit shorter than Kevorken, but still manages to make himself an effective blocker. He played both MB and OPP at Pepperdine, but I will assume he will play MB in Germany.

    As far as i remember, Herrsching introduced him as direct replacement for Daniel Malescha for opposite position. But his versatility will surely be welcomed.


    Other news:

    • New coach in Solingen will be Arno von Solkema (NED)
    • The new hall in Lüneburg took the last political hurdles. If everything goes "normal" now, there will be a new hall (3500 places) for season 2017/18, directly in Lüneburg. :super:
  • Updates on men's rosters:


    My comment on Berlin Recycling was that they would still need an experienced outside. Now they found him in Nikola Kovacevic (from Shanghai to Berlin).


    SVG Lüneburg added another young talented outside, Lukas Radzuweit (from VCO Hamburg) to their roster. But I don't expect, he will get too much court time.


    Netzhoppers KW had the most activity in the last weeks. And it looks as if they start building a tough team: Filip Gavenda (SVK, Milano/ITA), Björn Andrae (Friedrichshafen) and Dirk Westphal (from Nantes) are outstanding transfers :obey: But I don't know if they have a libero yet.


    The only transfer for Solingen Volleys so far is Oskar Klingner (from Lüneburg - in fact he was there on loan from Düren). They mainly stick to their 2nd league roster so far. If it will stay that way ... :white:



    Greets.


  • Netzhoppers KW had the most activity in the last weeks. [...] Dirk Westphal (from Nantes)
    [...]But I don't know if they have a libero yet.


    Well. Rumors say, that Westphal had a contract that would allow him to change to a foreign league on a good offer. Now he obviously signed somewhere abroad.
    Does anybody know where ?



    Greets.

  • I'm back :wavy: , thanks for keeping this thread alive....

    Well. Rumors say, that Westphal had a contract that would allow him to change to a foreign league on a good offer. Now he obviously signed somewhere abroad.
    Does anybody know where ?



    Greets.

    That would be bad and no, i don't know where he signed.


    Other news:

    • Lüneburg resolved contract with Nicolas Marks in mutual agreement for "personal reasons". They will need to hire another OH now.
    • In Berlin, Steven Marshall got injured. It is probably a knee injury (ACL). Most likely, they will hire another OH too.


    Tomorrow, the first ever Supercup will be played. Friedrichshafen will play versus Berlin. Match starts at 15.30 CET. Livestream: http://mediathek.rbb-online.de…ssort=tv&bcastId=38215000 (presumablxy, german IP is required)

  • I'm back :wavy: , thanks for keeping this thread alive....

    That would be bad and no, i don't know where he signed.
    Other news:

    • Lüneburg resolved contract with Nicolas Marks in mutual agreement for "personal reasons". They will need to hire another OH now.


    • In Berlin, Steven Marshall got injured. It is probably a knee injury (ACL). Most likely, they will hire another OH too.


    It's definite that Westphal is abroad. For several reasons I guess France. But no confirmation yet.
    The replacement for Nico Marks is Mads Mollegard from Gentofte, Danmark, announced here.
    I also believe that Berlin will hire another outside, but I have no information on that topic.



    Greets.

  • The replacement for Nico Marks is Mads Mollegard from Gentofte, Danmark, announced here.
    I also believe that Berlin will hire another outside, but I have no information on that topic.


    A bit early for judgements, but concerning the OHs, i fear Lüneburg's level will significantly drop this year.


    I also wonder, what is wrong with the "Marks Brothers"? Nicolas' brother, Jan-Phillip, seems to have disappeared too. He played really well in Düren until he got kicked off the team, apparantly for "non-volleyball" issues. Before this happened, i was actually pretty sure that he would get a shot at the NT this summer......


    Concerning Berlin, they announced that they promoted youth NT player Egor Bogachev to the roster, at least for the Supercup match today. Probably only a short-term solution, as Bogachev originally should play at VCO Berlin.