Semifinal #1 v Middelfart

We played our first semifinal playoff Saturday night, and it was a late affair due to some scheduling issues at the Stadionhal. Even though it was late, it was easily the largest crowd I've seen for a volleyball match in Denmark, and my hat goes off to our fans for making a great atmosphere to play in.

Before the match even started, we got the bad news that Kesse wouldn't be able to play, so Jens started for him and played well, getting a couple blocks and good kills as the opposite. We made a lot of mistakes and gave up a run of about five points in the beginning of the set that put us in quite a hole. We went on a run of our own a bit later in the set and narrowed the gap, but Middelfart ran off a few points again and finished us off comfortably, 21-25.

The start of the second set saw Kesse's shoulder loosen up a bit and he was able to come in for us. We played much better from the beginning, and I think we shook off whatever jitters or nerves were troubling us in the first set. We sided out solidly and were able to contain their opposite fairly well. We were definitely in the drivers seat in this one, but we had some trouble in reception that let them back in it, and a couple stupid mistakes at the net at the end wound up costing us. They took the set 26-28.

The third set started off 4-0 in our favor and was close until about the midway point, when Middelfart began to pull away. They sided out well and their opposite won nearly every ball in transition. We didn't serve well enough to pressure them much and they ended up winning the set 20-25.

Most winning streaks come to an end at some point, and in all honesty this loss wasn't earth-shattering or heart-breaking by any stretch of the imagination. We know why we lost and what we need to do to fix it. We made a lot of mental errors that were reminiscent of our play several months ago, but I don't think that it's indicative of us taking any steps backwards; we just had a bad day.

Despite that, we still did a lot of things well in the match. It was one of our best defensive efforts in recent memory, which allowed us to counter-attack well and earn some points. Still, our overall level was definitely a step below where it has been for the last seven matches, and in the early going it almost seemed like we were trying to do too much. We showed our potential in flashes, so it will simply be a matter of remembering to take a deep breath when things get too hectic. Hopefully the loss can serve as a motivation and refocus us for the remaining games of the season. Luckily our team seems to relish being the underdog, so I don't think we'll have any problem going into Middelfart in a "do-or-die" type situation.

Game v Gentofte

Sunday afternoon we kept our hopes alive of a 3rd place finish with a 3-1 victory over Gentofte. Although we don't completely control our own destiny, it's still good to know we have a chance. We had won the last five matches heading into the game, and had been playing pretty solidly all around, so we obviously wanted to continue that and get another win over a top four team.

We started the first set off with a lead of a few points and continued to keep it throughout most of the game. Our passing was stable and I had all three options nearly every time in reception, and our hitters did a good job of putting balls away the first time in each rotation. We had a rough patch in the middle of the set where Gentofte was able to run off a few points in a row and tie it up, but when we got around 20 we took control back and finished the set up to win 25-22.

The second set was completely different from the first and wasn't close at all. Gentofte brought in a new outside hitter, but that didn't help things much for them. We blocked really well and had the lead for nearly the entire time. We ended up easily taking the set 25-15.

Heading into the third, we expected Gentofte to put up a better fight than they did in the second, an assumption which turned out to be very accurate. They raised their level of play a bit from the previous set, but unfortunately ours took a step backwards. We made some mistakes we shouldn't have and I think I went away from the things that made us successful in the first two sets. We had the lead at 23-22, but Gentofte got a sideout and a couple points to take the set 23-25.

The fourth started with Dennis and Joakim switched, and our side getting back to the gameplan that helped us win the first two sets. The game was close most of the way, but I never felt any doubt that we would take the set. We definitely did not want to go five with Gentofte, and we were able to refocus and pass and attack well enough to avoid a fifth frame. For me, the key was our blocking in the fourth set. We served tough enough to force them away from the middle, and were able to limit the success of their outsides, which allowed us to take the set 25-22.

I feel like we have had our ups and downs this season in terms of team play, but it feels like we are reaching our peak at the right time. The last couple months have been pretty good, and it is nice to see that reflected in the win-loss record. You can say or think that you are playing well but if you aren't getting the results then it can wear on a team. I think the winning streak has given us a good, positive attitude that makes us believe we can win any game, which will be an important belief to have for the playoffs.

Thanks to Joakim for the video, you can read his thoughts on the game here.