Cup Semifinal

We lost the semifinal Saturday against Kharkov 3-0 (26-24, 25-17 and 25-18). In the first two sets we were down early, but in the first we were able to come back and make it close. In the third we started off with a 4-0 lead, but it didn't last for long and Lokomotiv won easily.



We had big problems with service and reception so it wasn't surprising the margins of victory were so big. Our best server missed 5 of his first 6 serves, and our passing pulled the setter off the net, which he has a lot of trouble with. And when we finally got some good passes, they camped out on our middles and got a lot of blocks. 



Like I mentioned in the last post, Kharkov is a very solid team, and their outside Tatarinsov is the best I've played against at changing speeds and controlling attacks off the block to get another swing. 

We play Favorit tomorrow, who lost 3-0 to Crimsoda earlier in the day. This will be the third time we've played them this season, and both times we won 3-0. The final between Crimsoda and Kharkov should be a good one, and I hope we get to stick around to watch.



It's been snowing pretty heavily today, though it hasn't been as cold as the -25C that was forecast, more like 'only' -13C. On the way to the match our bus broke down because it was so cold I think, so Lokomotiv had to swing by and pick us up. Their bus was nice, though basically the same as ours. Their sports hall is really nice as well and it's a lot like the one in Odense the Danish cup final is played in, for those who are familiar with it. One side (in the picture) is about twice the size of the other, and the entire hall was almost completely filled Saturday. Lokomotiv even has ultras, and everyone at the hall made it a good atmosphere to play in.

Two Months of Action

It's been a while since I've written anything, and I apologize. Here's what's gone down in the last two months:

When I last wrote we were undefeated in league and heading into the cup quarterfinals. We finished 3-0 in the group play there with wins over Lokomotiv Kharkov-2, Budivelnik, and Favorit. Since the last post our matches in the Championship have been against Yur Akademia (0-3, 3-2), Fakel (3-0, 3-0), Lokomotiv Kharkov (0-3, 1-3) and Budivelnik (2-3, 3-0), and we now sit fourth in the table. Yur Akademia was a disappointing weekend because we played poorly, Fakel was a bad team and was no problem, Lokomotiv Kharkov is legit and a solid team all around, and the four points we got from last weekend in Budivelnik were really important because they are one of the main competitors for a top four spot.

The team Lokomotiv Kiev folded about a month ago, because the players hadn't been paid in about 6 months. They finally had enough and called it quits, and my team ended up signing the setter from there. He's a solid player, and has a lot of experience in the Superleague, but it's unfortunately relegated me to the third setter position, and my match action for the most part has been limited to super-server-sub at the end of sets. I've done well with it but it's been a frustrating experience for me to say the least.

I can't say that I don't understand why I'm not playing. My setting has been really inconsistent to all areas of the court, and I don't know why. I've tried a million and one different things to try to change it but nothing is working, so I've come to the conclusion that it's just something mental. I've made hundreds of thousands of sets before, but I just can't make the ball do what I want consistently right now. I'm lacking confidence in myself and my abilities, and I don't know if it's the environment I'm in or something else.

Outside of volleyball things are so-so as well. I have one of the better flats in the city, and right in the center of everything, but the town is small and the standard of life here is much lower than what I've been used to in the West. Also, the league was suspended for two weeks because of a breakout (or maybe not after all, but rather political games ahead of the coming election) of H1N1, or as they call it here "California Flu." I have no idea how California got dragged into it, but that's what they call it. Because of the rescheduling of those games I won't be home for Christmas, though I am happy that I'll get 13 days at the end of December/beginning of January.

It's frustrating when both aspects of my life (on and off the court) aren't going well. My play this last week has been better, though I don't know if the coach has noticed or if it will make any difference in my playing time. I go home in eleven days, so I'm hoping a little R&R will clear my head and help me get through the second half of the season.

Right now the table looks like this (the columns are Points, Matches Played, and Set Scores):

1	Crimsoda	24	10	27-10
2	Lokomotiv Kharkov	22	10	25-12
3	Budivelnik	21	10	25-15
4	Impexagro	18	10	21-14
5	Yur Akademia	16	10	19-18
6	Vinnitsa	7	12	11-30
7	Fakel	0	10	1-30
8	Lokomotiv Kiev	0	0	0-0

We leave tomorrow morning for the cup semis, which will be in Kharkov on Saturday and Sunday. The matches will be on TV, though there's no webtv, so anyone outside of Ukraine is out of luck unfortunately, but I'll see if I can get my hands on some video.