Victory for Hypo giants

Man with the monster block blocks Tyrolean airspace

Tirol-Brazilian Pedro Frances (l.) drives opponents to despair with his blocks.(Bild: GEPA)

After an impressive 3:0 home win against Madlos Zagreb, the Hypo volleyball team has one foot in the third qualifying round for the Champions League. Two-meter giant Pedro Frances put his stamp on the game with incredible blocks.

The almost 1,000 spectators in the Olympiaworld on Wednesday almost felt sorry for Zagreb's volleyball players. The Croatians did not win a free ball in three sets. "Our block was on every attack. That makes it extremely frustrating for an opponent," grinned Hypo captain Niklas Kronthaler with satisfaction after the 3:0 win.

Innsbruck already have one foot in the third qualifying round for the Champions League.

Pedro Frances in particular unnerved the guests. The man with the monster block not only became an insurmountable obstacle on this evening. In addition to eight blocks, the 2.08-meter giant also scored eleven attacking points and a service ace.

Best player of the evening
The vote for best player was unanimous and resulted in a standing ovation for the Brazilian: "I haven't experienced that often, I'm really proud of this award."

Pedro Frances was voted "MVP".(Bild: Alexander Pauli Photography / Alexander Pauli)

In the hype surrounding him, Frances did not forget his teammates: "The whole team was very, very good. That also made my job easier."

We work very hard in training to make sure it works so well in a game. Everyone knows what they have to do.

Hypo-Tirol-Volleyballer Pedro Frances

For the match winner, the impressive performance of the Tyrolean smash kings also showed the signature of neo-head coach Lorenzo Tubertini: "We work very hard in training to make sure it works so well in a match. Everyone knows what they have to do."

At 35, the veteran is currently experiencing a second spring: "I didn't take a break in the summer, which is important at my age. I hope I can play like this for the whole season."

A breather in the league
Perhaps the oldie will get a breather on Saturday at the start of the domestic league against Klagenfurt (18, USI-Halle), Frances and Co. are already eager for the second leg against Zagreb: "We want to get as far as possible in the Champions League."