Germany - Volleyball Bundesliga (VBL) 2016/17

  • Nothing to earn for Lüneburg in Berlin. Overall, Lüneburg proved to be too lightweight and could not challenge Berlin in any moment of the match. Especially the difference in serve/receive quality was evident. I do hope Michael Brinkley (L) can improve his reception soon. It will be deeply needed.....


    For Berlin, after the weak start in Supercup, the momentum is slowly shifting back towards them. They looked really good yesterday, in almost every aspect of the game. Steven Marshall seems to be a perfect fit for the team, as he adresses general weaknesses in reception and defence. And they still have Kovacevic in the backhand. If Zhukouski stays healthy and further improves, i am convinced that they have an even better team than last year.


    Yesterdays stats (not online yet): http://live.volleyball-bundesliga.de/2016-17/Men/&7110.pdf

  • German Cup, Quarterfinal:
    Düren vs. Herrsching 2:3 (25:21, 16:25, 25:20, 24:26, 12:15)
    [...]Nice surprise by Herrsching in Düren, i know a happy user on here. Congrats Bayer :thumbup:
    [...]Due to the small size and height of their hall, Herrsching won't be allowed to play in their own gym. So it is still completely open, where they will play their semi-final.


    Thank you TimHH.


    But the handling of the situation by the VBL (German League) was far from professional.


    There is a real shitstorm going on in Bavarian media at the moment because of two facts:
    1. the right to play at home was simply withdrawn by the league. It was clear that Herrsching is not allowed to play a semifinal in their gym beforehand. But with the home field advantage Herrsching could have made a deal with other clubs to make an event out of their Cup semifinal. I don't know how they simply can withdraw a right.
    2. the gym in KW (Netzhoppers) is about the same size (even a little smaller) that Herrsching's. But they're allowed to play. No one understands that.



    Greets.


  • Yeah, changing the home field advantage in the way VBL did, surely is bad solution. I don't even think that Berlin is happy with that situation. Overall this is a very german way of solving this issue: "Rules are the Rules"..... :roll:


    I am pretty sure that the better stories and better entertainment would have been delivered with a Herrsching-Berlin semifinal. But even if i think that for the cup competition the rules concerning the hall requirements could have been less strict, the clubs should take some blame as well. Everyone involved could have known before, that this kind of situation can occur. So protesting about this "rule" should have taken place long before.....


  • The ceiling height for Herrsching is 7m (not okay) and for KW is 9,30m. That is the difference.

  • weekends results: http://www.volleyball-bundesli…lan/1blm_hauptrunde.xhtml


    ranking


    1. BR Volleys (6-0) 18
    2. United Volleys (6-0) 18
    3. VfB Friedrichshafen (4-1) 12
    4. Düren (4-1) 11
    5. Herrsching (4-2) 11
    6. Lüneburg (3-3) 9
    7. Netzhoppers (2-4) 6
    8. Bühl (1-3) 4
    9. VCO Berlin (1-6) 3
    10. TV Rottenburg (0-5) 1
    11. Solingen (0-6) 0


    Regarding the top3 teams, Berlin looked really good and dominant lately and also United Volleys seem to be improved compared to last season. Especially young romanian Adrian Aciobanitei really impressed so far. I am still not sure about Friedrichshafen. Imo, they miss a real big/dominant hitter which could make them vulnerable to teams on a good serving day. Düren already has shown how to beat them. So right now, i would guess that these teams keep this order until the end of the season. But we will be smarter after the first encounters of these teams. Right now, i am just speculating of course.....

  • Tonight, the cup semifinals will take place:


    19.00 CET, Netzhoppers KW vs. VfB Friedrichshafen
    http://sportdeutschland.tv/vbl…-vs-vfb-friedrichshafen_2


    19.30 CET, Berlin Recycling Volleys vs. TSV Herrsching
    http://sportdeutschland.tv/vbl…lleys-vs-tsv-herrsching_2


    In both matches, we have very obvious favourites and every won set by Herrsching and Netzhoppers could probably be considered as a a little success.


    With Tille, P. Steuerwald and Strohbach, the latter has played really well so far in this season, Herrsching has some above average players but still Berlin looked very dominant lately and imo, Herrsching would need some magic tonight to come out successful.


    More or less the same applies for Netzhoppers in their match vs. Friedrichshafen. Their roster looks insanely thin and the fact that they play this semi can rather be reasoned with some luck with the draw than their actual strength.

  • Well, what to say....... :rolleyes:


    Two easy victories for the favourites, no further analyzes needed.


    "Fun" fact of the evening: due to injuries and unavailability (job) of ALL their Middles, Herrsching's second setter and a guy from second team filled the vacancy. Overall, and including the fuss about the shifted home advantage for the Berlin-Herrsching match, that wasn't exactly good advertisement for the league.


    http://www.volleyball-bundesli…pielplan/1blm_pokal.xhtml

  • Most important match of last round took place in Frankfurt between unbeaten United Volleys and Friedrichshafen:


    United Volleys vs. Friedrichshafen 2:3 (21:25, 17:25, 26:24, 25:22, 11:15)
    stats: http://live.volleyball-bundesliga.de/2016-17/Men/&1030.pdf
    MVP: Simon Tischer / Tobias Krick
    replay: http://sportdeutschland.tv/vbl…-vs-vfb-friedrichshafen-2


    Friedrichshafen could have ended the match in three sets but they wasted 2 match points in the end of third set. The first two sets showed that United Volleys still need Christian Dünnes on court.


    United Volley's MVP Tobias Krick (18 years) meanwhile is showing that his daddy`s money, he is main investor at United Volleys, is really well invested. He is a great talent and already very good, especially considering his young age. Worth to mention as well are the good performances of Friedrichshafen`s norwegian MB Andreas Takvam. He is probably the best MB of the league at the moment.


    Overall this year we have a refreshing tendency, that a lot of young german players pay back the trust in them with good performances. Adam Kocian (Setter, 21 years) took over in Lüneburg and then there is David Sossenheimer (OH,20 years) at Friedrichshafen, Moritz Reichert (OH, 21 years) at United Volleys, Jens Sandmeier (OH, 20 years) in Bühl, Moritz Karlitzek (OH, 20 years) in Rottenburg and Egor Bogachev (OH, 19 year) in VCO Berlin. All of them are first team players at the moment and they are showing that they can all have a decent future in professional Volleyball.

  • I am coming back to some older posts....

    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......

    I just happened to read that Jan-Phillip and Nicolas ended up in Lindow-Gransee (2nd division). Whatever the reasons are behind this move, i find it quite sad, as both guys have the potential to be good Bundesliga players. Probably there are "off-court" reasons behind this. The youngest brother of the trio, Christoph, is doing a decent job so far in Solingen and as far as i can judge, he has a good start to his professional career.


    Talking about the Lüneburg guys, i would say that so far, Cody Kessel has left the best impression. He is a very impressive jumper and probably the most important part of the Lüneburg offense. Reception and service are rather average but as i said, his jumping and hitting capacities are truly impressive and he accumulated good attacking numbers so far.


    Michael Brinkley (L) had a quite rough start to the league, including some bad receiving stats. He got heavily targeted afterwards. It seems he can slowly cope with it but overall i would say that he has performed below expectations/possibilities.


    Eric Fitterer hasn't done particularily bad but neither very good too. Quite average, honestly said. I hope he can still improve as Lüneburg would really need a more dominant opposite.


    By the way, Cody Kessel is writing a nice blog about his experiences in Lüneburg

  • Jan-Phillip Marks should play for Romanian side Steaua but transfer was never concluded even though German was announced by the club.


    I told you about Fitterer, OPP which hadn't good stats in poor Spanish league cannot be reinforcement for solid side like Luneburg. :whistle:

  • Jan-Phillip Marks should play for Romanian side Steaua but transfer was never concluded even though German was announced by the club.


    I didn't know that. I hope he still finds a decent club wherever this may be....


    Matches today (streams: http://www.vbl.tv )


    18.30 Berlin vs. United Volleys
    19.00 Herrsching vs. Friedrichshafen
    19.30 Rottenburg vs. Netzhoppers
    20.00 Lüneburg vs. Bühl


    I hope the United Volleys can push Berlin a little bit. With a victory United Volleys could even get on top of the table. Before the match they stated that is now "their time" to win. For the sake of the competition i do hope they will deliver. With regard to the upcoming CL matches, an embattled match on good level would also be important for Berlin ....
    Interesting and important matches for the ranking are also taking place in Lüneburg and Rottenburg.

  • Great battles in this round 8o
    http://www.volleyball-bundesli…lan/1blm_hauptrunde.xhtml


    • Berlin's bench turned the match around against United Volleys. Ter Maat, Kühner (MVP) and Marshall entered the court for Zhukouski, Carroll and Kovacevic and all played really well. Especially Ter Maat had a brilliant performance :thumbup: . This match will surely make Serniotti think about the right selection for the CL match against Lube.
    • Thumbs up for Herrsching for taking a point against Friedrichshafen. They didn't present well against Belin and Lüneburg but came back strong.
    • Credit where credit is due. Eric Fitterer played really well in Lüneburg's tie break win against Bühl.
    • Solingen doesn't look very competetive. the season can become veeery long for them.

    standing:
    1. BR Volleys (8-0) 24
    2. United Volleys (6-2) 19
    3. Düren (6-2) 17
    4. VfB Friedrichshafen (6-1) 16
    5. Lüneburg (5-3) 14
    6. Herrsching (4-4) 12
    7. Bühl (2-4) 8
    8. Netzhoppers (2-6) 7
    9.TV Rottenburg (2-5) 6
    10. VCO Berlin (1-7) 3
    11. Solingen (0-8 ) 0


  • Bad news from Lüneburg.....
    The financial concept for building the new sports hall has been rejected by city and county which will, in best case, cause a major delayance. The only thing which is clear at the moment is, that the hall won't be ready for the start of next season. But generally, all options, including not building the hall at all, are on the table again. :|


    http://www.landeszeitung.de/bl…eneburg-zurueck-auf-start

  • Rottenburg has any chances today vs Duren ?


    There is always a chance, especially for the home court team but i think it is little likely. Overall, they just lack a bit of quality imho.....


    The match will be broadcasted in "full production" (14.30 CET, http://sportdeutschland.tv/vbl…swd-powervolleys-dueren_2 ) .

  • Big match on Sunday, 14.30 CET :teach:


    Berlin Recycling Volleys vs. VfB Friedrichshafen
    livestream (full production): http://sportdeutschland.tv/vbl…s-vfb-friedrichshafen-5_2


    With a win, Berlin can almost seal the first place for main round. So far, they look stable, versatile and their big win in CL against Lube surely gave some extra confidence. Serniotti has so many options that he can almost freely chose his lineup. Only Robert Kromm seems to be irreplaceable at the moment. Receiving alongside Luke Perry and Steven Marshall/Kovacevic obviously does him very well.


    Friedrichshafen beat Berlin in the very first match of the season in Supercup but unlike Berlin, they have already dropped some points in the league. With United Volleys RheinMain they have a strong opponent for second place.
    Their high performers are the usual suspects Simon Tischer and libero Markus Steuerwald. But also norwegian MB Andreas Takvam and young german OH David Sossenheimer showed some excellence already. Overall Friedrichhafen's OHs might lack a bit of offensive power, so a lot will depend on how the opposites, Finger or Malescha, will perform. They usually play a very "pleasant to watch" block/defense, risk avoiding Volleyball. I hope it will be enough to deliver a good match tomorrow.


    Other fixtures: http://www.volleyball-bundesli…lan/1blm_hauptrunde.xhtml

  • Berlin Recycling Volleys vs. VfB Friedrichshafen
    livestream (full production): http://sportdeutschland.tv/vbl/tv-spiel-…drichshafen-5_2


    Friedrichshafen is leading 2:0 in Berlin, both times stealing the set from Berlin, who had 24:23 and first attack in both sets. Lots of ups and downs for both teams within the sets. Not highest level so far but surely entertaining.....

  • Friedrichshafen is winning 3:0 . Incredible defensive play and good nerves in the decisive moments were the key. Berlin had 11 set points and could not convert a single one. :white: Berlin lacked the play with the middles and suffered from a bad day of Rober Kromm. On the other side, Andreas Takvam again with a stunning performance. Meanwhile he is the top scorer for Friedrichshafen. Not bad for a MB 8o


    stats: http://live.volleyball-bundesliga.de/2016-17/Men/&1051.pdf

  • Friedrichshafen is winning 3:0 . Incredible defensive play and good nerves in the decisive moments were the key. Berlin had 11 set points and could not convert a single one. :white: Berlin lacked the play with the middles and suffered from a bad day of Rober Kromm. On the other side, Andreas Takvam again with a stunning performance. Meanwhile he is the top scorer for Friedrichshafen. Not bad for a MB 8o


    stats: http://live.volleyball-bundesliga.de/2016-17/Men/&1051.pdf

    Highlights video:


    CfYZgdZkM14


    It even looks surreal. Berlin RV gained confidence in the past 5-6 years exactly by winning those points. Sometimes being in Friedrichshafen's situation, too. Even their first title from this now impressive run was won by trailing 14-12 (if I am not mistaken) in the decisive tie-break in the last, final playoff in Unterhaching. I don't know if it is because of the new players in both teams, the new head coaches, or Heynen's influence, it has been long since Berlin looked that helpless (finishing) in a Bundesliga game. Sure, it is just a single game, they are still the N1 title favourites, but them failing to convert so many set points is a change.

  • Even their first title from this now impressive run was won by trailing 14-12 (if I am not mistaken) in the decisive tie-break in the last final playoff in Unterhaching.


    A truly memorable match. :white:
    I can imagine, a lot of players from haching's site still have nightmares of this match.