Volleyball | For the Berlin Volleys, forgetting becomes a recipe for success

Before the start of the final series against SVG Lüneburg, the Berlin Volleys had a number of questions. How will the record champions emerge from the two-week break after their quick advance in the semifinals? How good are the Volleys really in shape after a minor stumble against Königs Wusterhausen in the quarterfinals of the playoffs, and Giesen not being too big a hurdle in the semifinals? And the most important question: How much do the Berlin team still have the last three games against Lüneburg fresh in their minds?

After the first match of the best-of-five series against the Lower Saxons, the Volleys seem to have found positive answers to all these questions. With a commanding 3-0 victory, the capital city team made their first statement in the battle for the German championship on Sunday in front of 6,552 fans at the Max-Schmeling-Halle. None of the three sets were particularly close. The Berlin team outplayed their challenger with scores of 25:17, 25:21, and 25:19. "Overall, a lot of things went quite well today. That means we'll try to keep it that way," Moritz Reichert analyzed matter-of-factly after the match.

Duels in the back of your mind

The MVP of the match had previously contributed significantly to the Volleys' victory with 14 points and a consistently strong serve, but still saw room for improvement for his team: "I think there were a few balls in reception that could have been handled a bit better." The Berliners want to remain vigilant because they have experienced the comeback qualities of the young Lüneburg team several times this season.

After the first three matches of the season had clearly gone to the Berlin team, the tide turned in February. The Lower Saxons won both German-German matches in the Champions League intermediate round – and then again in the Bundesliga return match at the beginning of March. All three matches went the full distance of five sets, and in the Champions League return match, they even had to play a decisive golden set. "I think we weren't able to play to our level in those matches. There was a phase, a bit of a slump," said national player Reichert, admitting that the losing streak before the final had played a role: "Of course, we keep it in the back of our minds that we want to show that we can be better. But it was a while ago, and in sports, it's always helpful to forget things like that relatively quickly."

On Sunday, the Berlin team displayed their desired poor memory. The Volleys dominated the first set from the start. When Lüneburg equalized at 9:9 in the second set after an early 7:2 lead for the Volleys, the Berlin team remained calm and quickly pulled away. And in the third set, the Volleys immediately countered an early serve series from the visitors. While such weak phases for the record champions in previous duels against the runner-up in the main round had led to entire set losses, the Volleys recovered much more quickly on Sunday.

Banks wants more coolness

This was no surprise to head coach Joel Banks: "There were a lot of people talking about the last few matches against Lüneburg before the final. We've closed that chapter," explained the Briton, whose contract was extended last month for three years until 2028, adding: "We've watched those matches, we've taken the losses, we've learned from them. But we're in a different phase of the season now." During this phase, the capital city team wants to avoid letting their opponents even come close to winning. This is one of the reasons why Banks was far from satisfied after the opening victory: "We didn't play badly, we played well. But there were opportunities in every set to be even more cool-headed."

In game one, Lüneburg repeatedly did the Volleys the favor of inflicting minor reception and serving errors in crucial moments, so that a greater killer instinct wasn't required. That should change next Thursday, when Berlin visits Lüneburg for the second game of the final series. "We're prepared for a tough battle. Lüneburg will definitely play at a higher level," warned Coach Banks. He expects a "cauldron" away from home, in which his team will have to be even more focused.

The Lower Saxons have already proven this season against the Volleys that they can handle defeats well. The carefree attitude of the Lüneburg team, who, with an average age of 23.3, are significantly younger than the record champions (27.9), has recently proved more valuable than the Berlin team's experience in the tightest moments. This is another reason why the Volleys will be keen to avoid creating too much tension in this final, lest the unpleasant memories of their slump two months ago return. An away win on Thursday would be just the thing.