Due to knee issues for Lars Fluggen, the Hamburg appearance will be the first international start for the Bockermann/Schumann partnership that received a “wild card” for the 2017 SWATCH FIVB World Tour Finals.  Bockermann, who placed 19th at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with Fluggen, first appeared on the FIVB World Tour in 2008.  Bockermann, who has participated in 77 world events, and Fluggen appeared in six gold medal matches with three title victories.  Schumann is completing his second FIVB World Tour season with 16 starts to his credit highlighted by a fourth-place finish at the 2017 Kish Island Open in Iran where he and Julius Thole defeated Bockermann and Fluggen in the quarter-finals.