June 20 ------ GERMANY dealt reigning Olympic gold medalist France a four-sets stunner, 25-23, 25-27, 25-20, 25-23, to keep its quarterfinals bid alive in the 2024 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Manila leg at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Ever-reliable 39-year-old spiker György Grozer showed no signs of rust with 21 points built on 18 attacks, two aces, and one block to lead the world No. 9 to its first win back in the Philippines since the tournament’s 2022 edition. Moritz Reichert and Lukas Maase then contributed 12 points apiece alongside a pair of 10-point performances from Tobias Krick and Tobias Brand. Although now Olympic-bound, the Germans have yet to secure its place in the VNL quarterfinals as the current ninth seed with a 4-5 card.
Still, such an important win was made more special as they took down an Olympic and VNL champion. “I'm really happy for the team because we won against France. For us, it's amazing. This is my first game after (skipping VNL 2023). I had my mistakes, still, and it's not always going well, but we are working on it," said Gyozer. “But today, we did really great things as a team. We were fighting. In important moments, we didn't put down our heads, we stayed strong, and we were fighting against a really strong team, so I am glad and happy that we won today.”
Left shell-shocked, ace hitter Jean Patry’s 20 markers couldn’t save the French from only their third VNL loss this year. However, they remain in strong contention for a quarterfinals spot in fifth place at 6-3.
Source: spin.ph
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