The German volleyball players have also won their first group match at the European Championships without their star Georg Grozer and captain Lukas Kampa. The European runner-up of 2017, who started with two defeats in the finals, defeated Austria 3: 0 (25:23, 25:15, 25:16). Simon Hirsch was the best German attacker with 18 points in Antwerp.
After the bad start with two defeats against fellow favorite Serbia (0: 3) and EM-co-hosts Belgium (2: 3), the selection of the German Volleyball Federation (DVV) in the table of group B is now with four points on the fourth rank.
The DVV selection took some time to come into play against self-confident Austrians. Only late could the Germans compensate for a backlog. In the second round, the team got a good rhythm and left the world ranking 37. no chance in the rest of the game.
Bart Vandenbroucke / DPA
In the attack Simon Hirsch stood out with 18 points
"We have to work now to take that rhythm from today," national coach Andrea Giani said after the game: "The win was important, the quality of this game was also important to us."
Giani had previously had to rebuild his initial formation. Zuspieler Kampa was due to a gastrointestinal disease not at all to cadres, diagonal attacker Georg Grozer was due to back and calf problems as the second Libero out, but did not use. In the course of the second set against Austria also center blocker Anton Brehme had to be replaced due to ankle problems. After a game-free day, the team meets in Antwerp on Wednesday (17.30 clock, Stream: Sport1 +).
