The second division teams had a disadvantage with the absence of some regular players and a thin squad of only seven players, while Rheno was able to draw on full personnel. Nevertheless, the home team’s start was a complete failure; it lost the first set in the first few minutes. After a 6-0 deficit, Rheno recovered and played along. However, the mortgage was already too large and Uster managed to win the set.
Rheno Volley catches himself and plays strong
From the second round onwards, Rheno increasingly dominated the game. Uster stayed in the game with stubborn defense, but towards the end of sets two and three the guests made mistakes and their self-confidence waned in attack. Rheno, on the other hand, cleverly used the time-outs to interrupt Ustermer’s pressure phases.
The large squad also allowed for a few substitutions so that the regular players could recover and return to the field fresh. At the beginning of the fourth set, Rheno took a clear lead and, with a score of 16:9, thought they were already on the home straight.
Even a short bear market doesn’t stop Rheno
But then the captain of the guests came to play. He put the Rheno defense under pressure with powerful jump services. After two substitutions, the reception was successful again, but the attack got stuck in the block. It wasn’t until the sixth attempt that Rheno was able to win a point again.
However, the Rheintaler team didn’t let this temporary downturn get them down and played the match confidently to the end. This resulted in a pleasing 3-1 win. In the next round, Volley Oerlikon, a first division team, will come to the Rhine Valley. The game has not yet been scheduled, but should take place in the next two weeks.
Mobiliar Volley Cup
Rhine – Uster 3:1
Sentence results: 21:25, 25:18, 25:17, 25:18 in 87 minutes.
Rhine: Robin Cotti, Raphael Engler (player-coach), Miro Hämmerle, Joel Kehl, Vojtech Krca, András Novák, Marc Nüesch, Cedric Rickli, Janis Rubin, Louis Rupf, Andy Steingruber, Stefan Ullrich.
