16/07/2020 11:00
German superstar Louisa Lippmann to try herself in Beach Volleyball
News from the National Federations
Frankfurt, Germany, July 16, 2020. The German Beach Volleyball Tour returns on Friday with a women’s only tournament taking place in Düsseldorf featuring a ‘newcomer’ – the major star of the German women’s national Volleyball team, Louisa Lippmann!
Lippmann will start alongside Isabel Schneider and swap the beloved indoor court for a rather unusual sandy one for at least two days. Lippmann replaces Victoria Bieneck, who is currently recovering from injury and cannot compete in Düsseldorf at this stage of her rehab process.
“For me it is a journey into the unknown. After the sudden end to the indoor season, I am really looking forward to this opportunity, which will bring me forward personally and as an athlete,” said the three-time German Volleyball Player of the Year. “Nevertheless, I have to lower everyone’s expectations. It is the first time that I am playing in the sand and at the moment I am learning new things every day,” adds Lippmann.
Lippmann’s plan originally did not include any sort of venture into Beach Volleyball. Isabel Schneider took the initiative: “I knew Louisa was working in the sand in Hamburg. Therefore, the idea came to our coaches and me to ask her to replace Victoria. We discussed this and asked if she felt like she was ready to try. Now I am looking forward to the challenge and I am excited to see what we can achieve together. She is an outstanding Volleyball player,” Schneider says.
Lippmann, who is currently keeping fit in Hamburg and preparing for the new club season, started the last indoor campaign in Shanghai before returning to Germany to play in Schwerin. After the abrupt end of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic, the start of the German Beach Volleyball Tour will be her first competition since mid-March.
For DVV (German Volleyball Federation) Beach Volleyball Sports Director Niclas Hildebrand, the one-time switch to the sand is an important sign. “Louisa is a very good example of why Christian Dünnes and I in Germany stand up for combined training, i.e. training indoors as well as in the sand up to a certain age. As an indoor national player and one of the best diagonal attackers in the world, she uses this opportunity to develop individually and learn something new in the sand,” says Hildebrand.
A few months ago, during the lockdown due to the coronavirus crisis, Lippmann had featured in one episode of the CEV’s ‘Unscripted’ series hosted by Dave Rogers, where she shared insights into her life off the court:
The Beach Volleyball event in Düsseldorf features all of the top German teams, including Margareta Kozuch/Laura Ludwig, Karla Borger/Julia Sude and Sandra Ittlinger/Chantal Laboureur as well as Swiss national team Anouk Vergé-Dépré and Joana Heidrich.
Sport1 will provide live coverage of the tournament on their digital platforms as well as on free-to-air TV.
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