Game v ASV

We had a home game against ASV Sunday, and going into the match I had no idea what to expect from ourselves or ASV. We had a poor game against Hvidovre a week before, and training was up and down for us in the days leading up to the game.

The first several points of the first set went well, but then all of a sudden it felt like the match we played a week ago. Balls dropping on defense, poor communication, poor reception, and mental errors all around. In a flash we were in a 5 or 6 point hole, and I think the general feeling among the team was "not again." The coaches tried to mix things up and changed Morten and I after our second timeout, with ASV leading about 14-20. Things didn't get much better as ASV ended up getting an easy win, 18-25.

Morten stayed in for the second set, and our team pulled it together and played like a completely different side than the one in the first. Dennis was able to get his jump serve going and we started off with an early lead of 3 or 4 points. Fleming and Morten Smith were able to get some blocks on their middle, who had been troubling us in the first set, and we backed that up with some great digs from Jonas and scrappy defensive play from everyone. ASV closed the gap a few times but were never in front as we played some solid volleyball from start to finish. Tue came in for Niels midway through the set and gave us some stable passing and good attacking on the outside. The only negative in the set was a broken play where Fleming and Kesse both went up for the ball and Kesse came down on Fleming's ankle. The physiotherapist says it's a sprain, and hopefully it will heal by the time we come back from our break. Joakim came in for Kesse to finish the set, which we won comfortably, 25-18.

The third set started off well again, with Morten getting a couple aces and ASV having some reception troubles early. We had a quick 5-1 lead and we sided out well enough to keep it for nearly the entire set. Our passing settled down for the most part and Morten was able to have 3 options most of the time out of reception. Niels had switched over to opposite for this set and he got us quite a few points off his serve, which helped to secure the win for us in the third, 25-21.

The fourth set continued in the same manner as the second and third. Some good service pressure saw us jump out to a 3-4 point lead as ASV was forced to go to the outsides and backrow, which led to a lot of hitting errors on their part. Our consistent siding out kept a comfortable gap between the two teams as Tue continued to put nearly every ball away on the outside. Søvsø, the backup opposite, was subbed in at match point and ended up blocking the outside from ASV to give us the win, 25-18.

That this was a good win for us would be an understatement. After a bad loss last week, we needed something positive to take us into the winter break and help us get out of the funk we had been in. It was a great team game, with everyone making a contribution on the court. I think the reason the first set was so bad is that we were playing as a bunch of individuals, with no cohesion or unity in our movements. The transformation of our team from the first serve, that saw 6 people on the court, to the last play of the match, where 11 teammates were working together and contributing to a victory, was great to see. As a team, pulling yourself out of a hole, especially in the middle of a match, can be a turning point in a season. I'm not suggesting we're going to run the table the rest of the way, but maybe it gives us a bit more confidence or focus that eventually changes the outcome of some match down the road.

As a result of the win, we now sit in 4th place in the league table, consistent with our goal of finishing top 4 for the season. We can look back on the first half of the season and see a few missed opportunities, but overall we have to be happy that we have done some good things and made improvements week to week. Our next match is January 12th against Gentofte, so it will be a while until my next volley update. Glædelig jul og godt nytår.