Cody Kessel celebrates reunion with the BR Volleys

The applause was deafening. The BR Volleys fan club cheered, clapped and made noise with clapping boards – and it was an opposing player whose name was called. But it was a very special player who appeared with his Greenyard Maaseik team in the Max Schmeling Hall on Wednesday evening, namely Cody Kessel.

The American played for the Berlin team for four years but left the club last summer. Now the fan favorite returned for a Champions League game and was warmly welcomed by 5,116 spectators. Shouts of “Cody” kept ringing through the hall.

The Volleys won the first leg in Maaseik 3-0. They also prevailed on Wednesday evening with 3:1 (25:12; 21:25; 25:22; 25:19). So far there are three wins and one defeat in the group phase of the Champions League.

Before the game even started, Volleys manager Kaweh Niroomand gave Cody Kessel a souvenir of his time in Berlin: a picture of himself in orange gear with the number eleven, his former jersey number. After that, sport quickly became the focus.

The Berliners started the first set motivated and quickly built up an eight-point lead thanks to the series of serves from their setter Johannes Tille. The guests had little to counter Jake Hanes’ attacks and the hosts also excelled in blocking, so they won the first set.

In the second set, the Volleys fell behind early. Maaseik now appeared much more confident and improved in all elements. The Berliners, on the other hand, seemed unsettled and had difficulties in coordination, so that coach Joel Banks was forced to take time out twice. However, that couldn’t change the fact that the volleys lost the set.

In the third set, the opponents put a lot of pressure on the serve, the volleys had big problems in this element and in the block. So coach Banks drew personnel conclusions and brought Daniel Malescha into attack. He was able to provide some new impetus and help Berlin fight back bit by bit and win the set point in the end.

They carried the momentum straight into the final set, in which middle blocker Nehemiah Mote in particular led the way with his experience. The guests fended off three match points, but a service error ultimately sealed Berlin’s victory. The orange fans then brought Kessel over and celebrated the reunion.

“I can hardly put into words what this game meant to me,” said Kessel, who was visibly overwhelmed by the support from the fans. “As an athlete who puts his heart and soul into his work, this means everything to me.” From a sporting perspective, he is of course disappointed that his team suffered a defeat despite their fighting spirit. “But I will remember this night for the rest of my life.”

“Cody is an absolute popular figure,” said Carsten from the 7th Mann fan club, who wore a Kessel jersey that evening. “He is a motivator who often provided the necessary push in difficult situations, a person with a heart and a Cheshire Cat. I’m very sad that he’s gone.”

The fan club organized a small surprise party for Kessel after his unexpected departure in the summer. For Carsten, Kessel was “the face of the club’s future” and he hopes that the American will return to Berlin at some point. “I can imagine him very well as a team manager.”