The SC Potsdam volleyball team started the play-off final for the German championship with a defeat. At the start of the Best of Five series, the Brandenburg women lost 3-1 (21:25, 22:25, 25:17, 19:25) to the defending champion MTV Stuttgart on Tuesday. In front of 2142 spectators in the almost sold-out Stuttgart Arena, Hester Jasper (15 points) and Anett Nemeth (14) were the most successful attackers among the guests. The second encounter takes place on Saturday in the MBS Arena in Potsdam.
In the new edition of last year’s final, SC Potsdam was on par with the opponent in the first set for a long time. But at 19:20 the flow of the game broke off for the guests. Maria Segura scored the important point for Stuttgart at 22:19, the following and crucial point at 23:19 resulted from an acceptance error by Potsdam’s captain Laura Emonts.
The Stuttgart women seemed to get into a flow afterwards. The guests found no means against the attacks of the US American Krystal Rivers, who had a tremendous jump. Even a few spectacular saves by SCP-Libera Aleksandra Jegdic did not change the superiority of the defending champion in this phase. At times, Stuttgart led the second round by eight points (21:13). After a series of serves by Maja Savic, Potsdam came back to 20:23, but could no longer avert the loss of the set.
However, the guests showed morale. With strong serves from Maja Savic, Anett Nemeth and Sarah van Aalen, they increased the pressure on their opponents considerably in the third period. But SC Potsdam’s high didn’t last long. A 6:3 lead at the start of the fourth set was quickly wiped out by a series of 0:7 points. The Stuttgart women found their security again and did not let themselves be diverted from the path to success.
Volleyball Bundesliga, women, play-offs, schedule Volleyball Bundesliga, women, main round, final table MTV Allianz Stuttgart, team SC Potsdam, team
