Germany captured the bronze medal at the 2014 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship with a straight-set (25-21, 26-24, 25-23) victory over France in front of a full house at Spodek Arena of Katowice on Sunday afternoon.
Germany captured the bronze medal at the 2014 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship with a straight-set (25-21, 26-24, 25-23) victory over France in front of a full house at Spodek Arena of Katowice on Sunday afternoon.
Gyorgy Grozer had 19 points as the best scorer for Germany, followed by Denys Kaliberda and Sebastian Schwarz who each contributed 12 points. Antonin Rouzier and Earvin Ngapeth finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the losing cause.
Key points
•Germany have won three and lost two against France at the world championships
•France lost their last two matches to finish the event with nine victories
•Germany became the 11th team with multiple medals at the world championships
It was the first medal for unified Germany in the history of the competition as they had won the gold medal in 1970 as East Germany in Bulgaria.
Germany had finished in eighth position in the previous world championship held in 2010 in Italy.
France team were looking to equal the bronze medal they attained in 2006 when the event took place in Japan. The fourth place is their best finish ever regardless the competition of eight years ago.
First minutes of the bronze medal match brought Germany’s 3-0 into the lead. With fine Tim Broshog, Sebastian Schwarz and Denys Kaliberda’s spikes, they managed to keep the advantage before the first technical timeout (8-6). After the break, Germany kept the good passing and played well in defence which resulted in staying 11-9 ahead. But then France started the chase. They presented difficult to pass serves and after Antonin Rouzier’s kill, they caught up at 11-11 and forced Vital Heynen to call timeout. The break helped Germany to regain focus and the fine blocks by Sebastian Schwarz and Tim Broshog put them 14-12 ahead. As Germany stayed focused, France with some mistakes couldn’t find a way to change the scores. After Schwarz’s left-wing spike, the distance widened to three points (23-20) and stayed till the end of the set, finishing 25-21 with an ace served by György Grozer.
The second set opened with France’s advance (3-1). However, the lead didn’t last long, as Grozer started his spike series and put Germany 5-4 ahead. France tried their best and put all their efforts in digging Germany’s kills and playing efficient counter-attacks, but they were Germany, who came off the court for the technical timeout leading 8-7. When the distance grew up to three points (14-11) after Grozer’s kill, France started taking touch. Kevin Le Roux with a fine spike and Earvin Ngapeth’s two aces in a row helped France to jump 16-15 ahead. As both teams knew they were playing high stakes, the game continued on a point-by-point basis. After an efficient block of Nicolas Le Goff, France’s lead grew to two points (19-17). Nonetheless, Germany’s aggressive serves caused another twist as the scoreboards showed their 22-21 leading. The ending of the second set was a series of serve errors from both sides, but finally Kaliberda’s spike finished the set 26-24 for Germany.
After winning the first two sets the confidence was on Germany’s side of the court as they gained a 5-4 lead. However, France knew it was the last chance to stay in the game, so they weren’t about to quit. With Kevin Tillie’s spike, three-coloured tried to catch up, but they were Germany, who led 8-7 at the first technical timeout. They managed to increase this advance, making a use of the opponent’s mistakes and building a fine triple block. Antonin Rouzier did his best to take touch before the first technical timeout (15-13), but another block by Sebastian Schwarz and Marcus Böhme put Germany 16-13 ahead. Vital Heynen’s players stayed focused till the end of the third set, which helped them in displaying some astonishing digs. György Grozer failed the first match ball with his spike out of bounds but Denys Kaliberda finished the set 25-23 and Germany celebrated their bronze medal.
Germany captured the bronze medal at the 2014 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship with a straight-set (25-21, 26-24, 25-23) victory over France in front of a full house at Spodek Arena of Katowice on Sunday afternoon.
Gyorgy Grozer had 19 points as the best scorer for Germany, followed by Denys Kaliberda and Sebastian Schwarz who each contributed 12 points. Antonin Rouzier and Earvin Ngapeth finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the losing cause.
First minutes of the bronze medal match brought Germany’s 3-0 into the lead. With fine Tim Broshog, Sebastian Schwarz and Denys Kaliberda’s spikes, they managed to keep the advantage before the first technical timeout (8-6). After the break, Germany kept the good passing and played well in defence which resulted in staying 11-9 ahead. But then France started the chase. They presented difficult to pass serves and after Antonin Rouzier’s kill, they caught up at 11-11 and forced Vital Heynen to call timeout. The break helped Germany to regain focus and the fine blocks by Sebastian Schwarz and Tim Broshog put them 14-12 ahead. As Germany stayed focused, France with some mistakes couldn’t find a way to change the scores. After Schwarz’s left-wing spike, the distance widened to three points (23-20) and stayed till the end of the set, finishing 25-21 with an ace served by György Grozer.
The second set opened with France’s advance (3-1). However, the lead didn’t last long, as Grozer started his spike series and put Germany 5-4 ahead. France tried their best and put all their efforts in digging Germany’s kills and playing efficient counter-attacks, but they were Germany, who came off the court for the technical timeout leading 8-7. When the distance grew up to three points (14-11) after Grozer’s kill, France started taking touch. Kevin Le Roux with a fine spike and Earvin Ngapeth’s two aces in a row helped France to jump 16-15 ahead. As both teams knew they were playing high stakes, the game continued on a point-by-point basis. After an efficient block of Nicolas Le Goff, France’s lead grew to two points (19-17). Nonetheless, Germany’s aggressive serves caused another twist as the scoreboards showed their 22-21 leading. The ending of the second set was a series of serve errors from both sides, but finally Kaliberda’s spike finished the set 26-24 for Germany.
After winning the first two sets the confidence was on Germany’s side of the court as they gained a 5-4 lead. However, France knew it was the last chance to stay in the game, so they weren’t about to quit. With Kevin Tillie’s spike, three-coloured tried to catch up, but they were Germany, who led 8-7 at the first technical timeout. They managed to increase this advance, making a use of the opponent’s mistakes and building a fine triple block. Antonin Rouzier did his best to take touch before the first technical timeout (15-13), but another block by Sebastian Schwarz and Marcus Böhme put Germany 16-13 ahead. Vital Heynen’s players stayed focused till the end of the third set, which helped them in displaying some astonishing digs. György Grozer failed the first match ball with his spike out of bounds but Denys Kaliberda finished the set 25-23 and Germany celebrated their bronze medal.
