Champions League

Volleyball star tricks opponents out of necessity

Nicolai Grabmüller (l.) has a great trick up his sleeve.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Volleyball player Nicolai Grabmüller can show off his trick play again this Wednesday (20:20, Olympiahalle) against Mladost Zagreb. The middle blocker from Hypo Tirol went viral with a video of the "Nico Special" when he outwitted his opponents in the first round against Kaposvar.

Nicolai Grabmüller caused a stir with a trick play move in the first round of the Champions League qualifiers against Kaposvar. The middle blocker jumped up to hit the ball, changed hands in mid-air and pushed the ball left-footed over the opponent's block into the gap to win the point. The video went viral and his teammates also thought the move was great. "The Nico special," commented captain Niklas Kronthaler. For Arthur Nath, Grabmüller is a magician.

Practiced in training
"Practice makes perfect," grinned the 28-year-old: "I sometimes do it in training too. It works quite well." Deceiving the opponent is not necessarily the 1.99-metre giant's intention: "It usually happens out of an emergency situation and quite intuitively. I saw the opponent's block in front of me, recognized the gap behind it and then made a quick decision."

Volleyball Champions League

2nd qualifying round

Wednesday: Champions League: Hypo Tirol - Mladost Zagreb (20.20, Olympiahalle, live on ORF Sport+).

Next hurdle
Today, Wednesday, Hypo Tirol face the next hurdle on their way to the Champions League. The team of new coach Lorenzo Tubertini will face Mladost Zagreb in the Olympiahalle (20:20). "We have to serve better than in previous games and stop making mistakes. We are a big team and have to exploit this advantage," explained Grabmüller, who is already getting on very well with his new teammates: "Everything is clicking and the coordination with the players is getting better and better."