Steelvolleys LINZ-STEG retain Austrian national league title
News
Steelvolleys LINZ-STEG have retained their title in the Austrian women’s national league after finalising the championship series with VB NÖ Sokol/Post on Wednesday night by recording a dramatic 3-2 victory (25-19, 25-27, 18-25, 25-20, 15-7) to seize the crown after four rounds. This is their third straight triumph in the competition following the 2019 and 2021 editions – as the 2020 season ended abruptly following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Roland Schwab has been at the helm of the team on each occasion. Schwab will now leave the team and focus on preparing the Austrian national team for the CEV EuroVolley 2023 qualifiers scheduled for later this summer.
Steelvolleys LINZ-STEG had looked dominant in the early stages of the best-of-five championship series – as they claimed back-to-back 3-0 wins. However, earlier this week, Sokol/Post managed to storm to a 3-1 away victory to stay in contention for the title. However, only 48 hours later, the defending champions managed to finish the season in style with 33-year-old Sophie Wallner closing the match and with that point, ending her competitive career as well.
Monika Chrtianska (19), Aida Mehic (17) and Lucia Miksikova (13) top scored for Sokol/Post in their losing effort as Jocelyn Urias Castro (23), Marisa Cerchio (17) and Sophie Wallner (15) registered the most points for the old-new national champions.
Roland Schwab“I am incredibly proud of the team. We showed real morale today and, unlike in the third match, we came back in the fourth set. In the end we took many risks and won all the points. I could not imagine a nicer farewell from Linz!”
Head coach of Steelvolleys LINZ-STEG
Andreas Andretsch, manager of Steelvolleys LINZ-STEG: “Today the team showed strong nerves and deserved to win. The broad squad paid off again in the end, because the reserve players provided the decisive impetus. Of course, I am particularly happy for Roland Schwab, who dreamed of just such a farewell. We have the most successful years in our club history behind us. Now it is important to set the course so that we can prepare for the next season and achieve further success.”