HAMBURG, Germany – It was, as aces physically must go, one by one, but it felt as if Louisa Lippmann was piling them on by the dozen at the Hamburg Elite.
Four aces were racked up before the technical timeout of the opening set against USA Volleyball’s Kylie DeBerg and Xolani Hodel, cracking open a 14-7 lead that would be a harbinger of what was to come not just for the remainder of the match, but for the German women as a whole. At no point was Lippmann or her partner, Linda Bock, slowed on Thursday afternoon, pouring on seven total aces in a 21-12, 21-15 win over DeBerg and Hodel, who emerged from Wednesday’s qualifier.
That win was no exception, but the norm on Thursday for the German women, who put on an astounding show of dominance to begin the main draw. Not a single set was dropped between any of the home teams, as they rattled off wins of 21-8, 22-20 (Cinja Tillmann and Svenja Muller over Japan), 21-9, 21-16 (Sandra Ittlinger and Anna Grune over the Netherlands), 21-17, 21-17 (Lea Kunst and Paula Schurholz over Italy) and the aforementioned 21-12, 21-15 sweep kudos of Bock and Lippmann.
When all was said and done, Germany smoked its collective opponents by 55 points, an astonishing margin given the level of play at these Elite events.
It isn’t the first time home field advantage has proved advantageous this season. The Saqaurema Elite was won by the home darlings, Thamela Coradello and Victoria Lopes. The next week, in Brasilia, both the men’s and women’s finals featured a Brazilian team.
Ostrava boosted its men, Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner, to a bronze medal despite the limited practice of the 2023 World Champs, as Perusic was just two weeks into being a new father.
Gstaad had its first women’s team make a podium in 13 years when Anouk Verge-Depre and Zoe Verge-Depre won bronze.
Montreal was home to the first win for Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson since… Montreal of 2023.
“Montreal!” Humana-Paredes crowed to the roaring crowd after the win, “We did it!”
Now it is Hamburg’s turn to lift its home teams to season-highs. Tillmann and Muller, the top seed in Hamburg, made the final here a year ago, and three straight Hamburg Elites have boasted a home women’s team on the podium. With vital World Champs standings on the line for Grune and Ittlinger, Lippmann and Bock, and Kunst and Schurholz, a podium would be an enormous boon.
One the home crowd would be happy to give them.
USA Cools After Hot Start
Wednesday was a wonderful day for USA Volleyball. All three women’s pairs — Brook Bauer and Maddie Anderson, Hailey Harward and Molly Phillips, Kylie DeBerg and Xolani Hodel — broke through the qualifier into the main draw.
Thursday was a different day. Underdogs in all matches, the USA dropped all three. Anderson and Bauer were swept by Brazil’s Carol and Rebecca (21-17, 21-16), Phillips and Harward were swept by Brazil’s Ana Patricia and Duda (21-14, 21-16), and DeBerg and Hodel were swept by Germany’s Bock and Lippmann.
All three will be in elimination matches the rest of the way in Germany. Bauer and Anderson match up with Raisa Schoon and Mila Konink of the Netherlands, and the two other USA Volleyball teams meet each other at 1 p.m. local time.
For full results and other news from the Hamburg Elite, head to Volleyball World.
Volleyball World photo
