Today, Düren and Berlin will face off in the 22nd round of the German Volleyball Bundesliga.
The Volleyball Club Düren sits at the fifth position in the Bundesliga, clutching 14 victories and 7 defeats, which has secured their path to the playoffs. However, the chances of them securing home games in the preliminary playoff stage appear slim as they trail the top-4 by 9 points. In the latest five rounds, Düren pulled three off victories but also suffered two almost expected losses from the next-in-line teams, Lüneburg and Friedrichshafen with the depressing scores of 0:3 and 1:3 respectively. It's worth to highlight the assertive victory against Herrshing (3:0), a direct competitor for a spot in the top-5.
In the CEV Cup, the team marked their departure back in December, unable to get past the 1/8 finals, where they met Cypriot Milon and fell short with an overall set score of 4:6, losing the first play with a score of 1:3.
At the end of January, the team showcased excellent form clinching five straight wins. Among the most recent matches were successful plays and challenging games. In the latest match on 25 February, Düren confidently defeated Bitterfeld with a score of 3:0. Previously, on 16 February, they faced a setback against Lüneburg, and another one on 13 February against Friedrichshafen. However, on 10 February, Düren managed to overcome Karlsruhe in a rigorous match with a score of 3:2, and even earlier, on 2 February, they snagged a significant win against Herrshing. The victories against Freiburg on 27 January and Netzhoppers on 21 January also contributed to the team's current successful streak.
The German Volleyball Club Berlin clinched the German Cup on 3 March, confidently defeating Herrshing in the final match, starting with a victory in the first set with a score of 25:13.
In the German Championship, Bundesliga, Berlin is in the pole position with a hefty 19 victories and just 2 defeats, and they continue their battle for the championship against Giesen and Friedrichshafen. In one of the recent rounds of the Bundesliga, the team clinched a nerve-wracking win against Lüneburg on a tiebreaker with a score of 3:2, after leading 2:0 after two sets. However, in between the Cup win and success in the championship, Berlin dramatically lost to Italian Trentino with a score of 0:3.
Berlin's progression to the quarterfinals of the Champions League can be deemed a significant success. In the 1/8 finals, they confidently defeated French Tours in two matches with an overall set score of 6:1. In the group stage, Berlin's opponents included Italian Piacenza and Turkish Halkbank, and despite a score of 3-3, the team came out of the group from the third position, losing to Piacenza in the last round with a score of 0:3.
Looking at Berlin's last five matches, their stability and drive for victory are evident. They scored a victory against Herrshing on March 3rd in the DVV Cup with a score of 3:0 and beat Lüneburg in the Bundesliga on 24 February with a score of 3:2. However, they faced defeats from Trentino in the Champions League with a repeated score of 0:3 on 29 February and 21 February, displaying the level of international competition. Nevertheless, a decisive win against Karlsruhe on 17 February in the Bundesliga with a score of 3:0 highlights their dominance at the national level.
Berlin has 9 consecutive victories in head-to-head matches against Düren, but only 1 victory was with a score of 3:0, in the other 8 matches Düren managed to take exactly 1 set.
The visitors, with the Cup in their grasp, are certainly in high spirits and have a chance to secure the top spot in the playoffs and ensuring a homecourt advantage all the way to the finals before the last tour. Nevertheless, the hosts have not lost to the leader of German volleyball for 7 consecutive matches without a trace, so I place a bet on Düren taking at least 1 set.
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