Cup Semifinal vs Middelfart

Thursday was the last match of 2008 and the cup semifinal against Middelfart. They beat us the last time we met, which was in the league, in a match that was arguably our worst of the year. The cup was a good opportunity to make up for that loss, and the fact that we were able to play at home was an added bonus.

Since I didn't talk about the cup much last year, I should probably explain how it works. The cup is a completely separate competition from the normal league where everyone plays three times. The cup is a single-elimination tournament where your opponent is drawn randomly from the teams in the elitedivision and some from the first division. Our first match was won by forfeit against Amager (from the first division), who never contacted us about dates to play, and the quarterfinal was against Holte, which we played just before the NCC. The cup is a unique competition because it gives teams from lower divisions a chance to play the sides from the elitedivision. However, it is usually the same four or so teams that end up in the finals (though maybe some Danish volleyball historians can tell us if any first division team has ever made it to the finals).

We started the match off slowly against Middelfart, down by 3 or 4 points early in the first set, but we gradually worked our way back in to the game. We felt that if we could get the score close by the last five points we would have a good chance of taking the set. Morten and Thomas came in and we were able to earn a few important points off our serve towards the end and took the set by a score of 25-23.

The second set was close as well, but the lead of a few points that we got midway though the frame was sufficient, so in the end there was less doubt about the outcome, a 25-22 win for us. The third set was entirely ours, as we put better service pressure on them, which led to some good blocks for us. They made a lot of errors in the third set as well, which gave us a comfortable 25-16 win.

I think our team does a good job of keeping leads, especially when we play at home. I would be interested to know what our record is in sets where we have a lead of three or more points. We've lost 15 sets this year in total (11 in league and four in the NCC), and if I had to guess I would say that of those 15 less than five were ones in which we had a meaningful lead. (In general I consider three to be a meaningful lead, though as always it depends on the team you are playing and how both teams' sideout offense is going.) And actually I wouldn't be surprised if it was just one or two sets.

So what does that mean? If you look at it from a skills perspective it means we have a good sideout offense. But it also means we are a good team, in the sense that we work well together. It means we don't give up runs of points, don't suffer big breakdowns in physical or mental terms. No one goes through a match siding out perfectly, but what's important is to limit mistakes when they occur, and help a struggling teammate move on to the next rotation, which is something we've done well this year.

Finishing a game is an important team skill in every sport, but I'm not sure if there's any way to coach it. Is it a product of the relationships between the players (the so-called 'team chemistry') or is it the sum of each individual's 'finishing ability'? It's likely some of both, which raises the million dollar question: If you don't have it, how do you get it?

I'm not sure it can be 'gotten.' I think the dynamic of the team will either allow it or it won't. It may be possible to have great chemistry without the ability to finish. It also may be possible to have no chemistry but the ability to finish. Ultimately though, a championship team needs to have chemistry and the ability to finish. A team with only great chemistry won't be able to win as many close games if the individuals suffer breakdowns at critical moments. And teams that lack chemistry but still have individual finishing ability won't be able to help each other along in moments of adversity. And teams that have neither chemistry nor individual finishing ability... well you're pretty much screwed. Sorry.

But of course chemistry and individual finishing ability are still not enough. Volleyball (and all sports) are ultimately about skill, and if you play a better-skilled team they are more likely to win, regardless of chemistry. But when teams are equal in skill, or when a good team is playing poorly, the team that can finish will jump on the opportunity and win the game.