Germany - DVL Bundesliga 13/14

Günthör will have 20 blocks by the end of the match if he keeps playing like this

This match reminds me why I don't like watching men's volleyball again...Simeonov is annoying like hell and as soon as things don't go well F'hafen players starting arguing with each other and talking to the referee about every slightly controversial discussion

F'hafen is the better team but Haching is much more likeable and I hope they'll turn this round somehow...

Well...Haching will certainly complain about the referee decision at 23:23 and it certainly looked like 4 touches, but they had 19:14 and wasted it all by themselves...

Stats are missing the beginning of 1st set, as you can see they list only 19 serves for Friedrichshafen, so the 13 errors for Haching in 1st set are not correct either. Günthör with 6 blocks in the stats but he had 2 or 3 right in the beginning of 1st set which are also missing in the stats because of this...

Quote from Matthias

This match reminds me why I don't like watching men's volleyball again...Simeonov is annoying like hell and as soon as things don't go well F'hafen players starting arguing with each other and talking to the referee about every slightly controversial discussion

F'hafen is the better team but Haching is much more likeable and I hope they'll turn this round somehow...

This is your opinion, I can't stand Sebastian Schwarz, for instance. I don't think he is that "likeable". Besides, he is always the one yelling at VfB players, in the regular round it was at Yosifov, today at Bratoev, Moculescu and Simeonov. You got my point. Simeonov might've overreacted at times, but he had a monster game, he enjoyed his contribution and I don't see anything seriously wrong with his behavior. Also, there were two situations where Haching players didn't confess touching the ball, one of these blocks got a clear touch on the way out. About the other one I can't say, perhaps not. This is how you ignite the fire. You know very well what the stakes are, you know they were also arguing a lot in the third game in Friedrichshafen, there is some tension between these two teams. The situation at 23 each was a bit unclear to me, but I don't think the referees made big mistakes in favor of any team. Schwarz also tried an overpass reception when the ball was around his waist, but got no referee call or whatsoever. Unterhaching had a 5-6 point advantage at the end of the fourth set, they could appeal as much as they want, the fact is they lost the game all by themselves.

As for the game, VfB was clearly the better team. Everything worked, Jovovic had a variety of options in attack. Zhukouski also had a good evening, but Haching lacks a reliable second OH. Gommans got out only after seven points, Marks didn't impress. Moreau seems like someone out of shape for the most important part of the season. Haching had huge problems organizing their block. Simeonov, Bratoev and Geiler often had no problems spiking against a three-man block. And again, amazing Grebennikov. Not the most technically prolific game overall, but a very interesting one for sure.

Paduretu had a very emotional microphone speech after the game finished. He said they would desperately try to find a sponsor to secure another season in the top league. Let's face it, it's not going to be the same Bundesliga with two powerhouses only.

Quote from TimHH

I agree with you that VfB has been the better team and won deservedly. But it was too tight in the end and with a bid of bad luck they could have ended up in a fifth set.
From third set on, Haching did what a "weaker" team has to do, especially in a home match. They brought emotions to the match and heated up the crowd. That it is completely legitimate and part of the game. The problem is, that VfB played that game and nearly failed. They should have been more clever.........

Where did I say something else? With this squad VfB should've been in the knock-out stage of the Champions League and should've won the regular season. I am not saying they were really good this year, but they were good enough yesterday. The Cup won't be enough for this group of players, brought in to actually steal the title from Berlin. Now if they want to do it, they would have to do it in a champions' manner - winning at least one game in Berlin. Sure, Haching might've even won the match, they are not a weak team despite the problems they have been facing, I never said anything different. It was actually bad luck for VfB in most of the fourth set, but I doubt this bad luck could've lasted that long, not with the performance they had on display. Yes, the fourth set was the most dramatic one, but remember that Moculescu trusted the back-up OH Gergye in front row in the last several points instead of letting Bratoev back in. Gergye got blocked for 22-23 (or something of the kind) before Bratoev, who had been showing great attacks all night and IMO shouldn't have been on the bench while Gergye was front line at that moment, reentered the field and closed the match with two spikes. Had Moculescu taken the Hungarian out a point or two earlier (the point before he lost a ball-over-net fight with Moreau, Bratoev had bigger chances for that ball because he is taller and a better blocker), I am sure VfB would've closed it by 25-22 or maybe even by 25-21 and the drama would vanish.

Let me get it straight, I am not defending VfB or Bratoev, nor am I criticizing Haching, a team I respect a lot, I just believe there was no way for VfB to lose that game with what they showed. Which doesn't mean they will be champions. And they should win the Bundesliga, otherwise the season can be best described as disappointing for them.

I don't understand why ony one player is doing the blocking in VB? Do other players watch him from distance?

First final is now live on http://www.dvllive.tv, teams are warming up still...

Friedrichshafen will play without Jovovic (pulled abdominal muscle).

Quote from TimHH

27.04.2014 | 16:00 Uhr | BERLIN RECYLCING Volleys – VfB Friedrichshafen 2:3 (25:14, 21:25, 21:25, 28:26, 13:15)
stats: http://live.volleyball-bundesliga.de/2013-14/Men/&1528.pdf

I could not watch . VfB is winning with an overall attack efficiency of 33% (Berlin 41)
Considering, Jovovic could not play this is a bid surprising.

Any comments from viewers?

Strange match...VfB played completely without middle attack, Zimmermann tried it a few times but played them in front of the waiting block usually. Both teams played very well in defense, thus the low attack%. In 1st set Berlin served very strong, especially Shoji, but they couldn't keep this level and VfB stayed calm. There have also been a couple of very questionable referee decisions against Berlin, Moculescu was smiling and I bet he thought something like "last year they screwed us, this year they screw Berlin". In 4th set Berlin gave away a 6 point lead but defended 3 match points and made it to 5th thanks to Kromm keeping the nerves, and in 5th it was Simeonov keeping his nerves despite visible exhaustion.
Zimmermann tried to play as safe as possible and I think overall he did well, good set quality in the basics.