BR Volleys' "Golden Match" with Ziraat Bank Ankara Brings Back Memories
Feature
In the Playoffs of the CEV Champions League Volley 2023, Berlin Recycling Volleys and Ziraat Bank Ankara will determine the quarterfinalist in just one match. After the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, the first leg in the Mediterranean country was cancelled and it comes to the showdown in Berlin's Max-Schmeling-Halle.
From a sporting point of view, this makes the encounter even more exciting and the stars of this duel bring back memories of a magical journey for the BR Volleys, of which the Berliners are once again dreaming after a strong group phase this year. Wouter ter Maat, Osmany Juantorena and Ruben Schott will be in focus.
On December 06, 2016, the Berlin Recycling Volleys kicked off a Champions League season that would last into April. 4,321 spectators in the Max-Schmeling-Halle saw the German champions take on the star ensemble of Cucine Lube Civitanova (ITA) in the opening match of the group phase at home.
Among others, Micah Christenson, Denys Kaliberda (from the Berlin junior team and later champion with the BR Volleys 2021) and Osmany Juantorena wore the jersey of the seemingly overpowering Italians. The home team was able to keep a supposedly unequal duel open from the start.
After losing the first set 21:25, the BR Volleys played themselves into a frenzy and a European star was to rise this evening - that of opposite Wouter ter Maat. The Dutch spiker smashed the Berliners to the next three set wins and a sensational 3:1 home victory (21:25, 25:16, 25:18, 26:24).
Ruben Schott remembers the performance of his former teammate and now upcoming opponent: "Since then, Wouter has been stored in my head as a strong blocker because he blocked Juantorena twice. Whether he really is today, I can't even say. In any case, this season was his stepping stone, from which this great person and player started a really successful career." There was talk of the "Flying Dutchman" afterwards.
The unexpected home win was the spark for head coach Roberto Serniotti's team, whose journey eventually took them all the way to the 2017 Final Four in Rome. Two years after hosting the final tournament in Berlin (winning the bronze medal in 2015), the BR Volleys were thus able to put the next huge international exclamation mark and qualify for the Final Four for the first time in sporting terms.
Until the semifinal, they beat Istanbul BBSK in a golden set (2:3, 3:2) in the Playoff-12 and then Dynamo Moscow (3:2, 3:2) in the Playoff-6. On Moscow's side, Sergey Grankin had to swallow this defeat, who later also played his way into the hearts of BR Volleys fans from 2019 to 2022.
"Nobody had us on their radar at the time and that is what made this success so epic. We had some injuries and that is why I got my chance to play a lot of important matches. Every win, whether against Rzeszow, Istanbul or Moscow, was great. Rome was then the career highlight for me to date and bronze was actually in our reach at that time as well," Schott recounts.
However, Civitanova took revenge on the Germans, who had previously lost 3-0 to Zenit Kazan in the semi-final, on April 30 in Rome's Palazzo dello Sport with a 3-1 win. Osmany Juantorena finished the bronze match in style with an ace.
The outside attacker would also be able to demonstrate his full class in Max-Schmeling-Halle in the Champions League two years later. In the first staging of the Super Finals, he became a Champions League winner for the third time in 2019. For the first time, the Italian international with Cuban roots returns to the German “Volleyball temple” on Wednesday.
That season, BR Volley's own youngster Ruben Schott also rose to become a player of international class. The outside attacker shone in the knockout matches of the Champions League and, seven days after the defeat in Rome in the German classic against VfB Friedrichshafen, also scored the match point to win the eighth championship.
Schott then moved to Italy (Milan) and Poland (Gdansk, Olsztyn) before the German international returned to his hometown in 2021.
Six years later, the BR Volleys are once again dreaming of a continuation of their European Cup journey after a strong group phase - but now Osmany Juantorena and precisely that Wouter ter Maat are once again standing in their way together.
Ruben Schott is now vice-captain of head coach Cedric Enard's team, ter Maat is Ziraat's scoring machine and Juantorena is the newly signed X-factor in this clash. Ter Maat's attacking prowess has led Ziraat to two consecutive Turkish championships, and he is also one of the best spikers in the Champions League this season.
The club for the capital secured the services of 37-year-old Juantorena two weeks ago, after the season ended in China. Schott knows about their qualities...
"With Wouter they play extremely fast, plus his really good serve. The signing of Juantorena certainly won't make things any easier for us. He plays with calmness and experience, is a man for big matches. Ankara has extreme force in attack now, but we can grab them in reception."
Schott led his team to a convincing 3-0 home win over Aluron CMC Zawiercie on the last matchday of the group stage, which allowed the BR Volleys to advance to the knockout round as group runners-up. There, due to the cancellation of the first match, can now be no "golden set", but thus a "golden match", so to speak, rises in the “Volleyball temple”. "We want to bring our best performance to the court, then a victory is absolutely realistic," said Schott.