Getting in shape for his coming stint in the Paris Olympics, opposite hitter Gyorgy Grozer scored the winning spike that carried Germany to a 25-23, 25-27, 25-20, 25-23 upset win over seventh-ranked France on Wednesday in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Men’s Pool Week 3 Action at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The 39-year-old Grozer then celebrated his comeback to the German national team that is being assembled for the quadrennial meet with 21 points as his heroics lifted the German side to their fourth win in nine outings.
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“I have started my preparation by doing heavy fitness work. This is my first game in my effort to prepare,” said Grozer, whose drop shot handed the Germans one of their last two points in their 102-minute battle with the French spikers.
France, the gold medallist of the Tokyo Olympics, struggled as the no. 9 Germany kept it close in the fourth set.
The match was tied at 23-all when French spiker Benjamin Toniutti deflected the ball away from the net, handing the Germans the point.
The loss was France’s third in nine outings for a 6-3 win-loss slate, dropping to a share of third with Japan and Brazil.
The French, however, still stayed in contention for one of eight slots in the VNL Finals, set in the city of Łódź in Poland from June 27 to 30.
Coach Michal Winiarski, the national German squad’s coach since 2022, said he welcomes the return of the likes of Grozer to the team, along with Moritz Reichert and Lukas Maase.
Grozer, who has been around since the London Olympics, was at his best when he scored six attack points that helped the Germans gain a 2-1 edge after three sets.
“Some main players are coming back. We have been playing without them (in the past), and I can see that our game is going up,” said Winiarski.
