Volleyball European Championship
Volleyball players between goosebumps and concern for Orthmann
Greece’s Aristea Tontai (l) tries to block the ball from Germany’s Antonia Stautz. photo
© Marius Becker/dpa
The start was successful for the German volleyball players. Now they hope that a key player is not seriously injured.
The joy at the opening victory of the German volleyball players at the home European Championships in Düsseldorf was somewhat subdued with national coach Vital Heynen.
“It can be a Pyrrhic victory. Maybe today we lost more than we won,” said the Belgian after Thursday night’s 3-0 win over Greece. Because key player Hanna Orthmann injured her knee in the first set. With her powerful shots, the 24-year-old is often the German player with the best points.
His players looked a little more optimistic. “She’s doing a little better now. It was the shock at first,” said captain Lena Stigrot. Orthmann himself also gave the all-clear. It was just a precautionary measure. Further investigations should provide definitive information about the injury.
“Goosebumps on day one”
The team coped well with the loss of the key player and the initial nervousness. “Did you see my first serve? It was the highest serve of my life I think,” Stigrot said with a laugh. She also noticed some restlessness among her teammates at the first home European Championship for the team.
But in the end, the volleyball players shook it off. The team also turned the third set with a catch-up race. That shows “that we are mentally tough. That we can hold out even when things are difficult,” says Stigrot. The audience also played a major role in this. “It was goosebumps on day one,” said the 28-year-old. On Saturday we continue against Azerbaijan in the Castello Düsseldorf.