10 Fascinating Facts about 2017 Men’s Super Cup

2017 Men’s Super Cup at a Glance

• Berlin Recycling Volleys v. VfB Friedrichshafen
• Sun. Oct. 8 at approximately 3:30 p.m. in Germany (9:30 a.m. ET in USA)
• TUI Arena, Hanover, Germany
• 2017-2018 Berlin Recycling Volleys Roster
• 2017-2018 VfB Friedrichshafen Roster

The 2017 Super Cup features two perennial Bundesliga A powers, Berlin Recycling Volleys and VfB Friedrichshafen squaring off.

Every season, this much-hyped exhibition match features the previous season’s German Cup winner, against the overall champion (or runner-up if the same team won both, as was the case this year).

That’s the basic plot line, but here’s some backstory uncovered on the 2017 Super Cup website, and elsewhere, that makes this year’s contest even more fascinating.

Zehn Faszinierende Fakten

1. At 35, the setter and captain of VfB Friedrichshafen, Simon Tischer, is three years older than the coach of Berlin Recycling Volleys, Luke Reynolds.
2. Tischer has 210 national team caps to his name.
3. The tallest players in 2017 Super Cup are Berlin Recycling middle Robert Kromm and VfB Friedrichshafen middle Jakob Günthör, who both measure 6-10 (212 cm).
4. Berlin Recycling setter Sebastian Kühner can serve the ball at 68.4 mph (110 km/hr).
5.  VfB Friedrichshafen middle Scott Kevorken and Berlin Recycling opposite Kyle Russell were teammates on the 2013 UC Irvine team that won the NCAA Tournament.
6. Berlin Recycling receiver/attacker Egor Bogachev returns after missing Germany’s 2017 European Championships silver medal run with an injury.
7. The VfB Friedrichshafen YouTube page is worth its own visit to hear the accomplished piano playing of opposite Daniel Malescha or watch setter Tomas Kocian and receiver/attacker Athanasios Protopsaltis pass a volleyball back-and-forth while standing on surfboards on a lake.
8. The Super Cup trophy weighs 8 lbs. (3,650 g), stands 17.7 in. (45 cm) tall and measures 9.44 in. (24 cm) in diameter, prompting Tischer to comment, “Finally, a cup you can drink from.”
9. Berlin Recycling receiver/attacker Paul Carroll competed with the Australian side in 2017 World League and finished 2nd in points in Group 2.
10. As you may have figured out by now, the 10th fascinating fact is that the headline to this section roughly translates to “10 fascinating facts.”

Need more reasons to get excited about the start of the Bundesliga A season? We’ve put together five more.

2016 Super Cup Video