We're going to the finals! Middelfart 2-3 HIK (23-25, 14-25, 25-22, 25-15, 13-15)
Saturday night's game was a great match, and had quite a few memorable moments. After going up 2-0 in sets, I think we took Middelfart for granted a bit, but they showed they had the ability to come back from deficits also. The first set started off well for us and was close the entire way. We got some good blocks that gave us some critical points on our own serve, which ended up winning the set for us. The second and fourth sets were both similar; midway through each there were a few good plays and some mistakes that made the set all but won early on.
The third set appeared to be of the same mould, but we chipped away at Middelfart's lead slowly, earning a point or two each time we sided out. We tied up the game around 21, but Middelfart managed to earn a few counterattacks to take the set. If we had lost that set badly and the fourth as well, who knows what our mental state would have been, so even though we didn't end up winning the third, the comeback was still very important for us. I think despite our getting hammered in the fourth we managed to bounce back in the critical fifth set because of our play in the third.
There were some great plays from everyone, including our "four leaf clover" of blockers Fleming, Jesper, Joakim, and Kesse (who is now Norwegian apparently). Some other things of note from the game:
•The most memorable person from the night may have been the scorekeeping secretary, who was absolutely wasted. You could smell the booze when you walked past the table, and he was wisely "substituted" after he couldn't work both the flip scoreboard and the electronic one simultaneously.
•The most memorable play of the night (which wasn't the last point, which ended with a missed serve) was probably a ball Niels hit from the outside that nailed the libero in the face. He laid on the ground for a couple minutes but luckily was okay and able to continue.
•The crowd at Lillebæltshallen was pretty hostile. It was most obvious when they were yelling at the ref (which isn't anything new), but apparently they were getting impatient with their own players as well, which is a little surprising to me.
•Our own crowd of traveling fans was great again. They were loud and made the atmosphere a great one to play in. I'm looking forward to seeing even more for the championship games.
•We beat Middelfart at home two times in five days after they hadn't dropped a home match in six months.
The best news coming out of the semifinals is the feeling on the team that we still have a couple areas where we can improve, which will give us focus for the last week of practice. We're happy with what we've done, but we're not satisfied, an important distinction that affects our attitude towards the finals.
And even though we scored a victory in the last meeting with Marienlyst we are not taking anything for granted. On paper Marienlyst has to be the favorite, but as they say, games aren't won on paper. Marienlyst is (and has been) the consensus pick to win it all, and Aalborg is the team that came from nowhere (sitting 5th in the table at the end of January) to make it to the finals. I think we've managed to provide some of the biggest surprises of the season in the Elitedivision, and certainly now is not the time to stop.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Semifinal #2 v Middelfart
We went down to Middelfart for the second leg of the series with a pretty positive attitude after the loss Saturday. Our traveling fans made it a good atmosphere in Lillebæltshallen and managed to drown out the Middelfart cheers at certain points as well, which I know all the players appreciated.
The first set didn't go particularly well for us as we missed a lot of serves and didn't side out very well. Middelfart had a pretty big lead for most of the set, and when they got to around 20 Morten and I were switched, and he did a good job of getting some rhythm into the sideout attacks, but it just wasn't enough. They ended up taking the set easily, 17-25.
The second, third, and fourth sets were all really close affairs. Morten started each set and Jens and I came in as part of double switches in the late points to get some extra attacking and blocking. As a whole our serving settled down a bit (though still not up to our usual standard) and when it did we were able to earn some counterattacks. We came up with some timely blocks and sided out on the first ball pretty well also. We took the second set 26-24 and lost a close third set 23-25, but with out backs against the wall won a big victory in the fourth, 25-20.
The deciding set was close the entire way, and when we sided out at 6-6 Tue came in for Jesper to serve. He served about five balls in a row to give us a ton of momentum and a good lead for the final push. The rest of the way we sided out on the first serve every time with the exception of one ball, and Jens won a really important sideout ball to give us match point. Middelfart sided out though and on the next reception I set Niels on the outside who put the match away for us.
Despite giving Middelfart an entire set's worth of points on missed serves alone, we definitely upped our level of play from the previous match. As a whole though our team agrees there is still another gear that we can kick it in to, so it will just be a matter of finding that on Saturday night, in what should be an exciting finish to the series.
The first set didn't go particularly well for us as we missed a lot of serves and didn't side out very well. Middelfart had a pretty big lead for most of the set, and when they got to around 20 Morten and I were switched, and he did a good job of getting some rhythm into the sideout attacks, but it just wasn't enough. They ended up taking the set easily, 17-25.
The second, third, and fourth sets were all really close affairs. Morten started each set and Jens and I came in as part of double switches in the late points to get some extra attacking and blocking. As a whole our serving settled down a bit (though still not up to our usual standard) and when it did we were able to earn some counterattacks. We came up with some timely blocks and sided out on the first ball pretty well also. We took the second set 26-24 and lost a close third set 23-25, but with out backs against the wall won a big victory in the fourth, 25-20.
The deciding set was close the entire way, and when we sided out at 6-6 Tue came in for Jesper to serve. He served about five balls in a row to give us a ton of momentum and a good lead for the final push. The rest of the way we sided out on the first serve every time with the exception of one ball, and Jens won a really important sideout ball to give us match point. Middelfart sided out though and on the next reception I set Niels on the outside who put the match away for us.
Despite giving Middelfart an entire set's worth of points on missed serves alone, we definitely upped our level of play from the previous match. As a whole though our team agrees there is still another gear that we can kick it in to, so it will just be a matter of finding that on Saturday night, in what should be an exciting finish to the series.
Monday, March 31, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
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.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Game v Hvidovre
Our game against Hvidovre was a bit of a grudge match, because the last match we played against them is one we feel we should have won. Unlike the previous meeting, from the beginning Saturday we showed that we were the better team and came away with a fairly easy 3-0 victory.
I played the entire game in this matchup, for the first time since the previous meeting with Hvidovre. It felt good to contribute from the beginning and be able put my mark on the game in the way our offense was run. We passed well from the first serve and I was able to use all my options in attack. Our middles won nearly every ball, and Hvidovre committed quite a few hitting and service errors at inopportune moments (for them) to give us a comfortable 25-19 victory.
The reason Hvidovre was as close as they were in the first set was because they were able to get a lot of "block-out" balls by tooling our block. We adjusted in the second set and opened up a three or four point lead with some solid blocking by the front line. However, Hvidovre was able to go on a few runs of points off their own serve by giving us some trouble in reception. The game see-sawed back and forth with each team getting a few points off their own serve and taking a lead. At one point we were trailing 14-11, but we put together a run of points to take the lead at 17-15. I then went back and served seven balls in a row, which led to an easy win for the second set, 25-16.
The third set started off with Tue and Niels being switched at outside, and Morten Smith making an appearance towards the end of the set as well. In the early going we had some reception troubles from the second set still plaguing us, but by the middle of the set we had a lead of about three or four points. We continued to side out on the first ball nearly every time and got a few points here and there off our own serve to open up a solid lead. The set didn't end up being very close, with a 25-19 victory in our favor.
The strange thing about this match was the amount of points that both teams earned off their own serve. It was a quick match because of this; rather than the teams siding out and getting points bit by bit, both sides would go on runs of two or three points each time they had serve. On our part, we conceded the runs nearly always because of trouble in reception, but we earned the points off our own serve from solid counter-attacking and great blocking, especially in the run we had in the second set. I can't remember the last time I served so many balls in a row in a match, and I think at least half those points came from blocks by Dennis, Goat and Kesse. That big run we went on seemed to take the wind out of Hvidovre's sails, and they were forced to make several substitutions to slow us down. It was good to see us use the momentum and energy we had to finish them off in the final set. We now sit solidly in fourth place, but we're still taking each game one at at time, and as a group I think we have a good focus heading into our final three matches of the regular season.
I played the entire game in this matchup, for the first time since the previous meeting with Hvidovre. It felt good to contribute from the beginning and be able put my mark on the game in the way our offense was run. We passed well from the first serve and I was able to use all my options in attack. Our middles won nearly every ball, and Hvidovre committed quite a few hitting and service errors at inopportune moments (for them) to give us a comfortable 25-19 victory.
The reason Hvidovre was as close as they were in the first set was because they were able to get a lot of "block-out" balls by tooling our block. We adjusted in the second set and opened up a three or four point lead with some solid blocking by the front line. However, Hvidovre was able to go on a few runs of points off their own serve by giving us some trouble in reception. The game see-sawed back and forth with each team getting a few points off their own serve and taking a lead. At one point we were trailing 14-11, but we put together a run of points to take the lead at 17-15. I then went back and served seven balls in a row, which led to an easy win for the second set, 25-16.
The third set started off with Tue and Niels being switched at outside, and Morten Smith making an appearance towards the end of the set as well. In the early going we had some reception troubles from the second set still plaguing us, but by the middle of the set we had a lead of about three or four points. We continued to side out on the first ball nearly every time and got a few points here and there off our own serve to open up a solid lead. The set didn't end up being very close, with a 25-19 victory in our favor.
The strange thing about this match was the amount of points that both teams earned off their own serve. It was a quick match because of this; rather than the teams siding out and getting points bit by bit, both sides would go on runs of two or three points each time they had serve. On our part, we conceded the runs nearly always because of trouble in reception, but we earned the points off our own serve from solid counter-attacking and great blocking, especially in the run we had in the second set. I can't remember the last time I served so many balls in a row in a match, and I think at least half those points came from blocks by Dennis, Goat and Kesse. That big run we went on seemed to take the wind out of Hvidovre's sails, and they were forced to make several substitutions to slow us down. It was good to see us use the momentum and energy we had to finish them off in the final set. We now sit solidly in fourth place, but we're still taking each game one at at time, and as a group I think we have a good focus heading into our final three matches of the regular season.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Game v Middelfart
Saturday was our final regular season match against Middelfart, and like I mentioned in my last post, I had a good feeling going into the match and didn't expect it to be like the previous times we had faced them. We've actually played them four times this season, losing the two matches that counted (in the elitedivision) and winning the two practice matches (in the pre-season and post Christmas). Say what you will about the fact they were practice matches, but having already beaten them in whatever setting gives you the belief that you can do it again.
The first set started out close, but it definitely felt like we had all the momentum in the match from the beginning. In the opening half of the set, Middelfart was flat and seemed a bit shell-shocked as we came out playing well and winning balls in transition. In the last five points of the set, Dennis and I came in as part of a double switch for Morten and Kesse, and after a couple errors on our part, we sided out and took the set 25-23.
The second set offered more of the same, with each team getting a few points off their own serve and then surrendering a few to the opponent after a sideout. The points we gave up were more often than not due to good plays by Middelfart, as we made few attacking and service errors. Our passing was solid throughout, and we were able to set the ball away from their bigger blockers, something we had trouble with last time. We ended up taking the second set in "extra time" by a score of 28-26.
The third set saw us get in a bit of trouble midway through, and Middelfart opened up a lead of three or four points, the largest they had held all day. Their opposite won a few balls in transition for them and we were never able to completely close the gap. I came in for Morten when we reached about 15, and we were able to get a few points off our own serve from Niels, but ended up dropping the set 23-25.
The fourth set saw Morten back setting again, and this time we pressured Middelfart early into making mistakes. The set was back and forth the entire way, but a few timely blocks by Joakim, Niels, and our middles on their opposite took him out of the game and gave us confidence and momentum to take control of the set and win it 25-23.
As you can tell by the scores of the games, each set was very close, and with the exception of the third, we were always in control in the last five points. I think this was in a large part due to our passing, which was nearly always stable, and gave us the ability to side out well. Our previous game against Middelfart we gave up big runs of points, but this time we limited that and took our own chances when they came to us. It was without a doubt a close, hard fought game on both sides, but when it came down to the critical moments in a set to make a play and change the game, we were up to the task more often than they were.
Our form of late has been pretty good, and it feels like we are really hitting our stride, much as we had earlier in the season before the break for Olympic Qualifiers. This is good news for us, because I think we are a team that rides momentum from match to match, and a two match winning streak for any team is always good news. With the win we are up to fourth in the table, with the set difference putting us just ahead of Arhus. Hopefully we can continue our run of good play this Friday at Arhus and over (yet another) break in game action.
The first set started out close, but it definitely felt like we had all the momentum in the match from the beginning. In the opening half of the set, Middelfart was flat and seemed a bit shell-shocked as we came out playing well and winning balls in transition. In the last five points of the set, Dennis and I came in as part of a double switch for Morten and Kesse, and after a couple errors on our part, we sided out and took the set 25-23.
The second set offered more of the same, with each team getting a few points off their own serve and then surrendering a few to the opponent after a sideout. The points we gave up were more often than not due to good plays by Middelfart, as we made few attacking and service errors. Our passing was solid throughout, and we were able to set the ball away from their bigger blockers, something we had trouble with last time. We ended up taking the second set in "extra time" by a score of 28-26.
The third set saw us get in a bit of trouble midway through, and Middelfart opened up a lead of three or four points, the largest they had held all day. Their opposite won a few balls in transition for them and we were never able to completely close the gap. I came in for Morten when we reached about 15, and we were able to get a few points off our own serve from Niels, but ended up dropping the set 23-25.
The fourth set saw Morten back setting again, and this time we pressured Middelfart early into making mistakes. The set was back and forth the entire way, but a few timely blocks by Joakim, Niels, and our middles on their opposite took him out of the game and gave us confidence and momentum to take control of the set and win it 25-23.
As you can tell by the scores of the games, each set was very close, and with the exception of the third, we were always in control in the last five points. I think this was in a large part due to our passing, which was nearly always stable, and gave us the ability to side out well. Our previous game against Middelfart we gave up big runs of points, but this time we limited that and took our own chances when they came to us. It was without a doubt a close, hard fought game on both sides, but when it came down to the critical moments in a set to make a play and change the game, we were up to the task more often than they were.
Our form of late has been pretty good, and it feels like we are really hitting our stride, much as we had earlier in the season before the break for Olympic Qualifiers. This is good news for us, because I think we are a team that rides momentum from match to match, and a two match winning streak for any team is always good news. With the win we are up to fourth in the table, with the set difference putting us just ahead of Arhus. Hopefully we can continue our run of good play this Friday at Arhus and over (yet another) break in game action.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Game v Arhus
Our game against Arhus Thursday was an important one for a few reasons. We'd lost three matches in a row due to some poor play, and Arhus held a 4 point lead in the table heading into the match. It was also the date that I had set to be ready to return to the court, so I was pretty excited the whole day leading up to the game.
The match started off a bit shaky, reminiscent of our last home game against ASV. We were able to settle down, however, and sided out well for the most part. We had a few runs of trouble in reception, but were able to counter that with some good serving of our own to erase any deficits. We ended up winning fairly comfortably, 25-21.
The second and third sets were a disaster for Arhus. They couldn't do much right, and we were able to get a lot of points off our own serve, especially from Niels, who had to be man of the match for us, with great serving, passing, and attacking. The final scores were 25-16 and 25-11 in the last two sets, numbers which really do tell the whole tale of the games. We definitely caught them on a bad night, and we know we will have to be ready for a different opponent when we visit them in a week's time.
Morten played well and ran a good offense, so there was no need for me to play, but I'm disappointed that I didn't get any time because I feel like I could have used it to shake off my six week break (pardon the pun) of not playing any competitive matches. As much as you try it is hard to simulate the intensity and energy of a match, when everyone is jumping a little bit higher and giving that extra ounce of effort. I feel ready though, and I'm finally used to setting with two fingers taped together, but it still feels a bit weird. I'm looking forward to the Middelfart game Saturday, which should be a good one. I think they overwhelmed us the first two times we played them, but by now we know what to expect and we're playing with good energy and focus, so it should be a good fight. Hopefully I'll have some good news to write about on Monday.
As for my Super Bowl predictions, I think the Patriots are going to take it. I'm rooting for the Giants though because I want Belichick to lose, but it wouldn't be so bad if the Pats won and we got to see history being made. My final score is Pats 34 - Giants 17, and Brady gets his third Super Bowl MVP.
The match started off a bit shaky, reminiscent of our last home game against ASV. We were able to settle down, however, and sided out well for the most part. We had a few runs of trouble in reception, but were able to counter that with some good serving of our own to erase any deficits. We ended up winning fairly comfortably, 25-21.
The second and third sets were a disaster for Arhus. They couldn't do much right, and we were able to get a lot of points off our own serve, especially from Niels, who had to be man of the match for us, with great serving, passing, and attacking. The final scores were 25-16 and 25-11 in the last two sets, numbers which really do tell the whole tale of the games. We definitely caught them on a bad night, and we know we will have to be ready for a different opponent when we visit them in a week's time.
Morten played well and ran a good offense, so there was no need for me to play, but I'm disappointed that I didn't get any time because I feel like I could have used it to shake off my six week break (pardon the pun) of not playing any competitive matches. As much as you try it is hard to simulate the intensity and energy of a match, when everyone is jumping a little bit higher and giving that extra ounce of effort. I feel ready though, and I'm finally used to setting with two fingers taped together, but it still feels a bit weird. I'm looking forward to the Middelfart game Saturday, which should be a good one. I think they overwhelmed us the first two times we played them, but by now we know what to expect and we're playing with good energy and focus, so it should be a good fight. Hopefully I'll have some good news to write about on Monday.
As for my Super Bowl predictions, I think the Patriots are going to take it. I'm rooting for the Giants though because I want Belichick to lose, but it wouldn't be so bad if the Pats won and we got to see history being made. My final score is Pats 34 - Giants 17, and Brady gets his third Super Bowl MVP.
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