Match V Germany

Well the first match for us was probably going to be the most important. It was always going to be important to get a good start to the tournament, and with Germany being the lowest ranked team in our pool it seemed like we would have a good opportunity to get on the winners board early.
The first set started off well enough for us and we jumped to an early lead. The Germans looked really nervous and we were able to take advantage jumping to a good 4 point lead. However the Germans settled and started using their powerful serves to get back into the game. Suddenly it was 19-19 and we were in trouble of being run over. However some good serves and some solid transition plays got us the set to 20.
The next 2 sets were a bit of a disaster for us. We didn’t continue where we left off and our reception started to struggle. Towards the end of both sets we staged a late comeback when it looked like the set was over; unfortunately it was not enough as the Germans won to 21 and 22.
The 4th set looked like much of the same story, the Germans superior serve and the liberos ability to make some good digs had us on the back foot. However we again fought back from a 4 point deficit to be 24-22 down. A sideout from us and then a German hitting error and it was 24-24. The Germans were unable to capitalise on a few match points and then suddenly with a kill block we had on to ourselves. Unfortunately our block attempt went slightly wide and then the Germans made a point of there own. With a match point to Germany they brought on a blocking sub, in this rally they had maybe 4-5 swings for the match, fortunately for us a tight German pipe attempt was tipped into the top of the net and just rolled back onto the German side. However our relief did not last long as the Germans took their next transition opportunity to take the set and match 30-28.
Obviously very disappointing for us, it was definitely a winnable game. We made heaps of great digs and block touches but it was the first and second touch after the initial touch that let us down. If we had taken only a few more chances it may have been different. Also not getting any of those 50-50 balls in the 4th didn’t help us either, but that’s volleyball and it will happen to you sometimes. (Like the next day against France too) So now we have to regroup and play the Le Blues in a big match!