Epic comeback propels SVG LÜNEBURG into #CEVCupM Final
News
An inspired SVG LÜNEBURG caused yet another sensation in the semis of the men’s CEV Cup, as they emerged victorious from their re-match with Arkas IZMIR of Türkiye and claimed the all-important Golden Set to reach the final of an international competition for the first time in their history where they will play Asseco Resovia RZESZOW of Poland or Fenerbahce PRL ISTANBUL.
The home side showed some signs of nervousness at the beginning of the match, and the visitors from Izmir pulled away thanks to a largely error-free game, thus leading 10-7 and 14-10. A visibly impressed SVG conceded five blocks within a very short space of time, regardless of whether Matthew Knigge tried it through the middle or Erik Röhrs as opposite hitter (11-19). There was a brief glimmer of hope for the hosts when Xander Ketrzynski served well, but Ramazan Mandıracı and Ertugrul Metin put things right for the visitors and the opening set went clearly to Arkas (25-17).
This put the German side under maximum pressure, as they were now not allowed to concede another set if they were to remain in contention. However, that seemed to spur them on, as they suddenly also won the long rallies and Ketrzynski increasingly asserted himself against the Turkish block (6-3; 9-5). For Arkas, it was Mandıracı’s serves that caused the ‘LüneHünen’ the most problems. But the home heroes held out and did not relinquish their lead (15-11). The German international Georg Grozer was the next ‘issue’ for SVG. He could almost do as he pleased and brought Arkas back into the set (17-17). The match went into crunch time (21-21) and when the first successful block against Grozer was recorded, the packed LKH Arena with 3,200 spectators shook. The hosts eventually had the upper hand and levelled the match with a block by Matthew Knigge (25-23). SVG Sports Director, Bernd Schlesinger, was full of praise for the performance: “Our team gave it everything they had in sets two and three. That was an absolute success of willpower!”
Pumped full of adrenaline and the knowledge that they could turn the game around, SVG started set three. Röhrs played better and better and kept the home side in contention. Arkas, however, increased the pressure and kept SVG at bay (4-6; 8-12). Slight mistakes crept in and SVG head coach Stefan Hübner called perhaps the decisive timeout that turned the game around. SVG captain Jesse Elser took command of the game and brought the team back with a run moving the score from 9-14 to 16-all. Two Ketrzynski aces had the crowd on their feet and, for a short time, only Elser and Grozer took turns in scoring. After SVG had fended off two set points (22-24), challenge fever broke out. Serving errors alternated with challenges and the nervousness of all the players was palpable. An outwardly relaxed Hübner saw his team fail to capitalise on three set points before Röhrs hammered the ball down to make it 30-28.
With the roaring arena behind them, SVG had the upper hand. Arkas was visibly impressed. Blake Leeson in the block and MVP Jesse Elser (23 points in the end) consistently exploited the visitors’ weak spell (4-1; 7-3; 10-6). Grozer was certainly not always to stop, but sometimes he was. Röhrs scored again through the middle, Ketrzynski diagonally and after another net-rolling ace, Arkas head coach Glenn Hoag changed almost his entire team. However, this was not to change the course of events. SVG took the set unchallenged 25-18 and forced their opponents to play an all-decisive Golden Set.
It quickly became apparent that the home side was on a roll, while Arkas was completely off the pace. The Turkish first timeout at 4-1 did nothing to change that. This was followed by two successful blocks against Grozer and Röhrs was unstoppable. The visitors were then dealt an acoustic knockout by Elser when he scored through the second touch to make it 11-4. The rest was a formality, and it was up to Röhrs to smash SVG LÜNEBURG into the final of the CEV Cup (15-8).
SVG coach Stefan Hübner was visibly marked by the encounter and touched by the enormous emotional toll resulting from reaching the final:
“It is simply a pleasure to watch the team. But with all this success, you also need to realise that it did not just happen tonight. You have to thank everyone involved here at the club. It is fantastic what the management in particular and all those involved have achieved with these resources."