24/02/2019 20:00
SCHWERIN emphatically secure first national cup title in six years
News from the National Federations
Mannheim, Germany, February 24, 2019. After waiting for as long as six years, SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN could celebrate with the German national cup title after storming to a 3-0 victory (25-21, 25-21, 25-20) in the matchup with Allianz MTV STUTTGART held at the SAP Arena in Mannheim. SCHWERIN took their revenge after losing a dramatic final in 2017 to secure their sixth national cup title overall – and their first since 2013.
The game featuring the two currently best teams in Germany lived up to the expectations of fans and experts alike from the very beginning, with high-quality rallies and much tension. SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN got off to a better start and pulled away in the first set to 16-11. In return, STUTTGART scored six consecutive points to take the lead. However, the attack proved to be today’s weakest point for Allianz. Just over a third of their attempts were successful and this was obviously not enough to stand a chance against an opponent such as SCHWERIN. A double block from Kimberly Drewniok and Lauren Barfield gave SCHWERIN a 1-0 lead (25-21).
The 10,287 spectators in attendance followed a similar plot in the second set. Although the eventual cup winners attacked significantly better than their opponent did, they had problems too. It was a very close affair up until the end (23-21), but SCHWERIN won the set with two points in a row.
After securing a 2-0 lead, memories from 2017 flashed back, when SCHWERIN found themselves in the same position but eventually lost a dramatic final at the tiebreak. The Stuttgart fans were once again loud, as their side were able to close in (13-15). However, the blocking game of SCHWERIN was their major asset at this stage of the match and middle blocker Barfield made a quick move to secure five match balls for her team at 24-19. In the end, Kimberly Drewniok sealed a 25-20 win to start up the celebrations with the ‘Yellow Wall’, the many fans that had travelled to Mannheim from Schwerin.
Felix Koslowski, coach of SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN: “All good things come in threes. It was my third attempt as head coach in the national cup final, once with VfB 91 SUHL and now with SCHWERIN for the second time. For me it was the hardest final. STUTTGART have played an incredible season so far and have a great squad. My team played very strong. We focused on the essentials and played very strong most of the time. That was a top performance today.”
Kimberly Drewniok, opposite hitter of SSC Palmberg SCHWERIN: “I did not expect to win 3-0. It was really fun with the team; it was a great team performance. We were much focused, played to our strengths and stayed patient. That made the difference today.”
Jana-Franziska Poll, outside hitter of Allianz MTV STUTTGART: “Of course it is annoying when you lose. We had some good moments, but just made too many mistakes in reception and serve. The worst part is we know that we can play a lot better! Too bad that we could not give anything back to our wonderful fans, who supported us so much again. However, we hold our head high - we still have other goals to achieve!”
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