It is often said that there is no “I” when spelling team or that one swallow does not make a summer when it comes to sports, but then again, there are exceptions.
When it comes to playing volleyball at Tuks, Danilo von Ludwiger is a legend. Tuks’s men won the USSA Indoor Volleyball Championships in Polokwane this weekend. Although the sixth-year medical student will never admit it, he was a guiding light for his team during their heroics. His performance was noticed. Von Ludwiger got the award as the most valuable player of the tournament.
It was not what he wanted to talk about. It was being champions that excited him. It is the first time that Tuks’s men have won. Last year, they were third. He was also excited that Heiko Guther was the best attacker and blocker during the tournament and Aiden Pillay the best setter. As said for Von Ludwiger, there is no “I” when spelling team.
There is no respite for him. From tomorrow, he and Pillay will play for the South African Student Team during the Cucsa Games hosted at Tuks.
“It is a genuine honour to play for the national indoor volleyball team, especially since it has been a few years since any national indoor squad has been selected. None of us know what to expect. My only promise is that we will give it our all.”
The last two weeks have been hectic for Von Ludwiger. The previous weekend in Marocco, he and Leo Williams were involved in a “blood, sweat, and tears war” trying to qualify to play beach volleyball at the Paris Olympic Games. Unfortunately, they failed.
“I am happy with our performance as our effort has not been in vain. We did qualify for next year’s World Championships in Australia.
“We lost to Morocco in the semifinals. Don’t get me wrong, Morocco played well and deservedly won. But still, I can’t help but think we were handicapped by unsportsman behaviour from the fans and coaches. It is challenging to be focused when you serve with continuous whistling and calling. It does not happen when a player lines up to kick for post in a rugby game.
“But then again, we made things difficult for ourselves by losing against Senegal in a pool game. If we had won, we would have topped our group and played Mozambique in the semifinals. I would have backed ourselves to win. The Mozambique players tend to make mistakes when under pressure.”
Von Ludwiger only arrived back in South Africa on Tuesday last week. The following morning, he was on the court in Polokwane playing for Tuks. He would have had it no other way.
“The grind of playing volleyball never stops, but I love it. It was the last time I played indoor volleyball for Tuks. That is why winning the gold is special. My last Tuks tournament will be the November USSA Beach Volleyball Tournament. The goal is definitely to win another gold for Tuks.”