A flight in the “airplane” lasted 89 minutes

A friendly match between Germany and Italy, serving as preparation for next September’s Men’s European Volleyball Championship, set an unprecedented record as the first set lasted nearly as long as a full match, ending with a 66-64 victory for Germany after 89 minutes on the day before yesterday. During this historic set, the German national team saved 28 match points awarded to Italy, and ultimately, reception and attack specialist Tobias Brand converted Germany’s 15th match point to secure the win and give his team a 1-0 lead. The previous world record for the longest set in an official international match had been set just a few months earlier, in June during the Nations League, when Argentina and Poland played a 62-minute set that ended 50-48. The Germany-Italy match lasted more than three and a half hours before Italy, the world champions, won the deciding set 64-66, with the full match scorelines being 66-64, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22, and 15-12.