VC WIESBADEN claim sensational victory in Istanbul

On Thursday, Germany’s VC WIESBADEN caused a sensation courtesy of their 3-2 away victory at Galatasaray Daikin ISTANBUL in the first round of the women’s CEV Challenge Cup 8th Finals. 

The team coached by Benedikt Frank edged ahead by two sets (25-22, 25-16) before the tall Galatasaray women eventually woke up. After they claimed set three and four (27-25 and 25-21), the score was levelled, and a fifth set would have to decide the fate of the match. And – as in the previous matchup against USC MÜNSTER in the German Bundesliga – the Hessians kept their nerves in the decisive crunch time. After securing three own match points (14-11), things got dicey again briefly, but Izabella Rapacz finally sealed the match (15-13). The underdogs from Germany had won in the impressive 7,000-capacity Burhan Felek Voleybol Salonu, despite loud whistling and booing from the local crowd. The ultimate showdown for a place in the quarterfinals will now take place on Wednesday (December 6, 19:30) in the Wiesbaden sports hall on Platz der Deutschen Einheit, which is going to be sold out for the occasion.

Sirens and blue lights

The conditions were already special right upon arrival. VC WIESBADEN was picked up at the airport as ‘befitting their status’: in a Galatasaray bus, with blue lights and sirens, driving in the right-hand lane exclusively past the long traffic jams towards the city centre. After an eleven-hour journey, the 50-minute shuttle to the Istanbul Volley Hotel, placed in the spacious indoor complex, was a stone’s throw away only. Then training, video study, rest periods, physio sessions – all of this was new for Benedikt Frank’s team in this constellation, but none of them were intimidated by the atmosphere surrounding the renowned Turkish club, as was to become apparent on the court.
 
VC WIESBADEN played all five sets with their regular six: Tanja Grosser and Jaidyn Blanchfield (outside hitters), Izabella Rapacz (opposite), Milana Božić (setter), Nina Herelová and Rachel Anderson (middle blockers) and Rene Sain (libero). No substitutions were made – there was simply no reason to do so. Galatasaray’s head coach Guillermo Naranjo Hernández was well-aware of the skills of most of the Wiesbaden players (the 46-year-old previously coached SC POTSDAM and Allianz MTV STUTTGART in Germany’s Bundesliga). However, this know-how was not to pay off, at least in the first two sets where the visitors constantly poked holes in the Turkish side’s shaky defence and scored points with good service. 

Third and fourth sets

The coach’s words certainly rang true, as Galatasaray women around captain, libero Bihter Dumanoğlu Yarkin looked more focussed, especially in the decisive phase. Up to 13-13, the two teams initially gave each other nothing, with VC WIESBADEN even taking the lead by four and three points (19-15, 22-19). Jaidyn Blanchfield put an ace on the board to make it 23-19, followed by a German match point (24-23) to make it 3-0 - but it was not enough. After a drama-filled final stage (24-24, 25-25), the hosts closed the gap – and VC WIESBADEN let the set slip from their grasp (25-27). Frank’s team was ahead several times in the fourth set too (6-3, 8-6) before it became tight again. The lead changed back and forth. Galatasaray’s attack repeatedly found holes as the game progressed. They also benefited from misunderstandings on the other side of the net (although there were only a few in the entire match for the Germans), especially at the net, and the Turks held on to win 25-21. 

Tie-break

Those who make up two lost sets usually have a moral advantage, but not in Istanbul. Neither team was able to pull away at first (3-3, 9-9). VC WIESBADEN tightened the reins (12-10, 13-11). The first couple of match points (14-11) did not work out, but then Izabella Rapacz secured the German triumph away from home (15-13). The game was over after 121 minutes – and the sparsely populated hall with its remaining 750 spectators fell silent. A total of 13 aces were recorded by VC WIESBADEN. The points were spread across a homogeneous team that had understood well how to put Benedikt Frank’s plan from theory into practice.

Izabella Rapacz (23), Jaidyn Blanchfield (18), Rachel Anderson (15), Tanja Grosser (13), Nina Herelová (12), and Milana Božić (3) scored for VC WIESBADEN. Three Galatasaray players scored in double figures: the two Americans Danielle Cuttino (24) and Logan Eggleston (17), as well as Ilkin Aydin (12).

Benedikt Frank, head coach of VC WIESBADEN: “Winning in Istanbul is truly special. We did not allow Galatasaray to get into the game at all in the first two sets. Later, they switched to diagonal and outside hitter, which we first had to get used to. We should not have conceded the third set, and we were still struggling with that missed opportunity in the fourth. In the end, it was a question of self-confidence and we had that. Galatasaray were certainly not quite at the level they usually play at, but that also had something to do with our own performance. We put Wiesbaden on the international map. But we are far from through. It is going to be a very tough match next Wednesday.”