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.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
A 1/3 Season Recap
At this point we are a third of the way through the season (plus one match) so having seen everyone in the league at least once it seems like a good time to make some commentary. I'll go in order of the standings right now and write some things that come to mind about each team:
Marienlyst-Back in the number one spot, where most expect them to be. I'm disappointed they weren't able to go farther in the Challenge Cup which would have been great for Danish volleyball, but think they'll do really well in Sweden (gratuitous self promotion: that Challenge Cup match against the Bosnian team would be great for someone to put on volleyballtorrents.com!). Some of the recent things I've heard coming out of Odense make it sound like there is some unhappiness with the new coach, but I can't see that being too much of an issue.
HIK-Everyone on our team is pretty happy with being second now, and with the semi-final match in the cup coming up as well, we're right in line with our goals for the season. Tue and Mikkel have stepped in well, and with essentially the same team as last year we have some good chemistry going forward. I think our team is unique in the depth that we have off the bench, something that can serve us well later in the season. And since I haven't mentioned it yet here, congrats to Flemming, Niels, Jonas, Morten, and Kesse for getting the call-up to the national team.
Gentofte-Also has a very similar team to last year. They're going to be a tough match when we play them away the third time, which could have a big impact on the standings. They definitely miss not having the Goat in their lineup, so getting him back could be a big boost for them.
Middelfart-One of the biggest surprises of the season. They're a hard team to understand simply looking at scores. They beat Marienlyst, but drop a lot of sets to teams lower in the table. I think they are still in a readjustment period, with a new coach and lot of new players that may still all be getting used to each other.
Holte-One of the most successful teams in Danish volleyball is back in the Elitedivision and looking to play a spoiler, likely for the fourth spot. They have the veteran craftiness to pull out a few more upsets I think.
Ikast-Looked the same in the series as when we saw them in a preseason tournament. They have good runs, but when things go bad they implode. A team with some good young players that looks like they will be able to stay up in the Elitedivision if they can keep up their current form.
Århus-Definitely the biggest surprise of the year. Even with the money for buying foreigners gone, I don't think many expected them to be on zero points at this stage in the season. Definitely need to turn it around the second time through the series if they don't want to go down.
Marienlyst-Back in the number one spot, where most expect them to be. I'm disappointed they weren't able to go farther in the Challenge Cup which would have been great for Danish volleyball, but think they'll do really well in Sweden (gratuitous self promotion: that Challenge Cup match against the Bosnian team would be great for someone to put on volleyballtorrents.com!). Some of the recent things I've heard coming out of Odense make it sound like there is some unhappiness with the new coach, but I can't see that being too much of an issue.
HIK-Everyone on our team is pretty happy with being second now, and with the semi-final match in the cup coming up as well, we're right in line with our goals for the season. Tue and Mikkel have stepped in well, and with essentially the same team as last year we have some good chemistry going forward. I think our team is unique in the depth that we have off the bench, something that can serve us well later in the season. And since I haven't mentioned it yet here, congrats to Flemming, Niels, Jonas, Morten, and Kesse for getting the call-up to the national team.
Gentofte-Also has a very similar team to last year. They're going to be a tough match when we play them away the third time, which could have a big impact on the standings. They definitely miss not having the Goat in their lineup, so getting him back could be a big boost for them.
Middelfart-One of the biggest surprises of the season. They're a hard team to understand simply looking at scores. They beat Marienlyst, but drop a lot of sets to teams lower in the table. I think they are still in a readjustment period, with a new coach and lot of new players that may still all be getting used to each other.
Holte-One of the most successful teams in Danish volleyball is back in the Elitedivision and looking to play a spoiler, likely for the fourth spot. They have the veteran craftiness to pull out a few more upsets I think.
Ikast-Looked the same in the series as when we saw them in a preseason tournament. They have good runs, but when things go bad they implode. A team with some good young players that looks like they will be able to stay up in the Elitedivision if they can keep up their current form.
Århus-Definitely the biggest surprise of the year. Even with the money for buying foreigners gone, I don't think many expected them to be on zero points at this stage in the season. Definitely need to turn it around the second time through the series if they don't want to go down.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Match v Gentofte
Our match last weekend was against Gentofte, who was the top team in the table when they arrived in Aalborg. They didn't stay that way for long however, as we beat them in four sets: 25-18, 24-26, 26-24, and 25-18. The win put us as number one for a short time, until Marienlyst got their two points from Ikast and moved back into the top spot, bumping us down to second, level on points with Gentofte but with a better set record.
The first and fourth sets were very similar, with good service pressure by us forcing Gentofte to the outsides and our blockers taking care of the rest. The second and third sets were close, and the third one was interesting in particular because we came back from a defecit of several points late in the set to win, and take some good momentum into the fourth.
Gentofte didn't pass well, so their middles (minus the Goat) only won a handful of balls on the afternoon, and we were able to limit Napier's effectiveness in attack from both the front and back row, which was important. We ran the middle decently, though Gentofte was committing with them early in the match so our outsides had some good chances. Steen was substituted in the third set and stayed in the entire fourth set and played really well. He made some good passes when he was served and won a few balls, but most importantly served well at the end of the fourth set to put it out of reach.
The first and fourth sets were very similar, with good service pressure by us forcing Gentofte to the outsides and our blockers taking care of the rest. The second and third sets were close, and the third one was interesting in particular because we came back from a defecit of several points late in the set to win, and take some good momentum into the fourth.
Gentofte didn't pass well, so their middles (minus the Goat) only won a handful of balls on the afternoon, and we were able to limit Napier's effectiveness in attack from both the front and back row, which was important. We ran the middle decently, though Gentofte was committing with them early in the match so our outsides had some good chances. Steen was substituted in the third set and stayed in the entire fourth set and played really well. He made some good passes when he was served and won a few balls, but most importantly served well at the end of the fourth set to put it out of reach.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Back to the Blog
I know it's been a while since I wrote, so without going into the major reasons why, I'll just get to the blogging.
We've had seven matches since I last wrote: one against Ikast in which I didn't play due to a broken finger, a cup match against Holte, three matches in the Nordic Club Championships, and then another two weekends ago against Marienlyst. I'll get to the match against Skovbakken in a different post...
The game against Ikast went smoothly, and wasn't too remarkable except for the second set when we came back from a big deficit thanks to Tue's great serving. The rest of the match was pretty comfortable for us and we won in straight sets.
We had a weekend off then a strech of four matches in four days, thanks to some "creative" scheduling by Holte. In the Cup, the home team proposes several days to play the match, one of which must be a weekend day. Their proposed weekend day for the cup match was while we were playing in the Nordic Club Championships, of which they were well aware. So we were left with a few week days to choose from, and we picked the day before the NCC started, which ended up working out well. I had just been cleared to play on Tuesday, so I was pretty excited to get back into action. So Thursday we ended up beating Holte 3-0, which was important because it set a good tone for the weekend and allowed us to conserve energy for the following three days.
After the Holte match we took the bus up to Odense and got settled into our hotel, the CabInn, a hotel that seemed straight out of Japan. It was comfortable and nice, but everything was tiny. The tournament was very well run by Marienlyst (and Fortuna), so thanks to them for a well-run weekend. Our first match was against the Icelandic team Throttur. They had some moments of good play and a solid opposite, but were a little out of their league on the weekend. We dropped a set to them, but won the rest comfortably.
Saturday we played the Swedish team Vingåkers, who had a couple North Americans on the team. They were a very similar team to Orkeljunga, whom we met in the preseason. Both teams had good ball control, with slower tempo offenses despite smaller hitters. It's only two teams that I've seen, but that's the impression I get about the Swedish league. At any rate, we beat them 3-0 and played well in the process, setting up the final match of the tournament against Marienlyst for the guaranteed spot at the finals. We had watched Marienlyst play an uninspiring match before us against the Icelanders, and felt good about our chances on Sunday.
Unfortunately Sunday turned out to be a blowout for Marienlyst. We played poorly and Marienlyst was on the top of their game, something we saw a few times last year. Our best serves were passed perfectly, our offense was out of sync, and Powell was on fire. They beat us easily in three and got their place in the finals. The three other teams to go are Falkenberg (Joakim's team and winner of the group that played in Copenhagen), Nyborg (winner of the group in Norway) and Middelfart (second place in the group in Norway). I'm disappointed we're not going since Gentofte and we had more difficult pools, and Middelfart could only finish 1-1 in the easiest group. But that's the nature of group play, and I'll still be rooting for them and Marienlyst when they go to Sweden.
The following week we had an opportunity to get some revenge on Marienlyst but let it slip through our hands. We came out of the gates quick and got out to early leads in the first three sets. We closed out the first two, but in the third with a lead of 20-17 we failed to finish. Marienlyst took the fourth set as well to force a deciding frame. They took an early lead of three or four points but we climbed back in to it and tied it up around 14. The match went to extra points, and we were forced each time to side out to keep the match going. We had a few chances on our own serve to earn a point but couldn't capitalize, and lost 20-18.
And actually this is a good lead in to something else that has been taking me away from blogging: a website that I've started. VolleyballTorrents.com is a site I've made for people to upload and download torrents of... you guessed it, volleyball! So far I've got about 15 matches on there, and I have 10 or so more torrents to put up. There are four categories each for men and women: Beach, Club, International, and College. You can't download without signing up (all you need is an email and I promise I'm not going to spam you or sell it or anything like that), but once you have you can browse the torrents and download, and (what I'd really like) start uploading your own matches. So all that was a really long lead in to this: if you want to see the Marienlyst - HIK match, you can download it from the site. So go check it out and start uploading your own stuff.
We've had seven matches since I last wrote: one against Ikast in which I didn't play due to a broken finger, a cup match against Holte, three matches in the Nordic Club Championships, and then another two weekends ago against Marienlyst. I'll get to the match against Skovbakken in a different post...
The game against Ikast went smoothly, and wasn't too remarkable except for the second set when we came back from a big deficit thanks to Tue's great serving. The rest of the match was pretty comfortable for us and we won in straight sets.
We had a weekend off then a strech of four matches in four days, thanks to some "creative" scheduling by Holte. In the Cup, the home team proposes several days to play the match, one of which must be a weekend day. Their proposed weekend day for the cup match was while we were playing in the Nordic Club Championships, of which they were well aware. So we were left with a few week days to choose from, and we picked the day before the NCC started, which ended up working out well. I had just been cleared to play on Tuesday, so I was pretty excited to get back into action. So Thursday we ended up beating Holte 3-0, which was important because it set a good tone for the weekend and allowed us to conserve energy for the following three days.
After the Holte match we took the bus up to Odense and got settled into our hotel, the CabInn, a hotel that seemed straight out of Japan. It was comfortable and nice, but everything was tiny. The tournament was very well run by Marienlyst (and Fortuna), so thanks to them for a well-run weekend. Our first match was against the Icelandic team Throttur. They had some moments of good play and a solid opposite, but were a little out of their league on the weekend. We dropped a set to them, but won the rest comfortably.
Saturday we played the Swedish team Vingåkers, who had a couple North Americans on the team. They were a very similar team to Orkeljunga, whom we met in the preseason. Both teams had good ball control, with slower tempo offenses despite smaller hitters. It's only two teams that I've seen, but that's the impression I get about the Swedish league. At any rate, we beat them 3-0 and played well in the process, setting up the final match of the tournament against Marienlyst for the guaranteed spot at the finals. We had watched Marienlyst play an uninspiring match before us against the Icelanders, and felt good about our chances on Sunday.
Unfortunately Sunday turned out to be a blowout for Marienlyst. We played poorly and Marienlyst was on the top of their game, something we saw a few times last year. Our best serves were passed perfectly, our offense was out of sync, and Powell was on fire. They beat us easily in three and got their place in the finals. The three other teams to go are Falkenberg (Joakim's team and winner of the group that played in Copenhagen), Nyborg (winner of the group in Norway) and Middelfart (second place in the group in Norway). I'm disappointed we're not going since Gentofte and we had more difficult pools, and Middelfart could only finish 1-1 in the easiest group. But that's the nature of group play, and I'll still be rooting for them and Marienlyst when they go to Sweden.
The following week we had an opportunity to get some revenge on Marienlyst but let it slip through our hands. We came out of the gates quick and got out to early leads in the first three sets. We closed out the first two, but in the third with a lead of 20-17 we failed to finish. Marienlyst took the fourth set as well to force a deciding frame. They took an early lead of three or four points but we climbed back in to it and tied it up around 14. The match went to extra points, and we were forced each time to side out to keep the match going. We had a few chances on our own serve to earn a point but couldn't capitalize, and lost 20-18.
And actually this is a good lead in to something else that has been taking me away from blogging: a website that I've started. VolleyballTorrents.com is a site I've made for people to upload and download torrents of... you guessed it, volleyball! So far I've got about 15 matches on there, and I have 10 or so more torrents to put up. There are four categories each for men and women: Beach, Club, International, and College. You can't download without signing up (all you need is an email and I promise I'm not going to spam you or sell it or anything like that), but once you have you can browse the torrents and download, and (what I'd really like) start uploading your own matches. So all that was a really long lead in to this: if you want to see the Marienlyst - HIK match, you can download it from the site. So go check it out and start uploading your own stuff.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Match v Middelfart
On Saturday 11th October, we hosted Middelfart for the third game of the year, in a rematch of last season's semifinal. It was an important match because we each had taken only two points from the first two matches, and both sides were looking for two more to move up the table early in the season.
The first set went quickly and easily thanks to great service pressure from our side, most notably Niels, who put us out to an early lead that set the tone for the match. We never looked back from there, and won a lot of points from solid serving and counterattacking.
The second set started off slowly for us, but our centers Mikkel and Jens set up a wall that Middelfart could find no way around. Despite Middelfart's best efforts to change personnel around and try different looks, we continued blocking well (including a monster block by Tue) and earning points off our serve. The defecit we faced early in the set was erased by some great serving from Jens, who gave us a lead which we never surrendered.
The third set continued in the same way as the first and second, with our block continuing to dominate at the net and win us points off our serve. Kesse and Morten came in again as part of a double substitution and continued the high level of play to see the set almost to its completion. The final ball was a kill from Jens, which sealed a comfortable two points taken from an important rival.
The first set went quickly and easily thanks to great service pressure from our side, most notably Niels, who put us out to an early lead that set the tone for the match. We never looked back from there, and won a lot of points from solid serving and counterattacking.
The second set started off slowly for us, but our centers Mikkel and Jens set up a wall that Middelfart could find no way around. Despite Middelfart's best efforts to change personnel around and try different looks, we continued blocking well (including a monster block by Tue) and earning points off our serve. The defecit we faced early in the set was erased by some great serving from Jens, who gave us a lead which we never surrendered.
The third set continued in the same way as the first and second, with our block continuing to dominate at the net and win us points off our serve. Kesse and Morten came in again as part of a double substitution and continued the high level of play to see the set almost to its completion. The final ball was a kill from Jens, which sealed a comfortable two points taken from an important rival.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
An Open Letter to Udlændingservice
To Whom it May Concern at the Immigration Office:
That joke isn't funny anymore. It's the one where your complete incompetence causes huge problems in my life. Remember last year when I applied for a work permit in the beginning of September and never received a reply in the ten months I was here? That wasn't funny. But okay, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt about that one. I applied while I was in the country, which you don't like ("subject to five year waiting period"), and it was probably a job that a Danish person could have done. But still, it wasn't funny was to call every week and have the exact same conversation each time. Here's how it went:
Me: I'm calling to check on my work permit application. My case number is ###.
Worker: Alright... Wow, you've been waiting a long time. (They would actually say this to me.) Let me just check something... Okay, well you should hear something soon, and I'll put a note in your file.
(Repeat for 9 months)
But this time it's different. My math and education degree can be put to good use teaching. I applied from California. And seeing as many of the teachers at my potential school (a small sample size) are not qualified to be teachers or don't have a math degree, it doesn't seem like the area around Aalborg is exactly teeming with qualified math teachers. And from what I've heard Denmark is lacking math teachers as well. So why did you write in your letter that someone from Denmark or the E.U. could be doing this job? You're right, there is probably a guy in central Slovakia that could do the job, but the fact is, he's not here! And by the way, I'm a native English speaker, which is pretty useful when the language of instruction is English.
You also wrote in that letter that I didn't have enough hours per week. It's really considerate of you to worry about how I'll spend my free time, but I think I can pass those hours myself. That must be the only reason you are worried about hours. It can't be because I'm not making enough money, because I would earn same amount as the monthly government stipend given to students. If it's enough for a Danish student, why can't it be enough for me? And I also live in some of the least expensive housing in Aalborg, so don't worry about rent.
The comedians you hire to work the phones at the Udlændingservice also aren't funny anymore. If I call one week, they will tell me I am on the positive list; the next week, I'm not (a huge difference in determining minimum hours, wages, processing time, etc.). Does anybody really know? I definitely still don't. And take last week for example, when I called and you said my decision had been made two weeks prior (which wasn't mentioned in phone calls!). It turns out you mailed it to my address from last year. Ever think there was a reason my new application didn't list any Danish address? I moved to a different apartment! So I rushed off to the police station, where the comedian on the phone said there was another copy (because for some reason they didn't know the result). The police station told me they didn't have anything. Honestly, I wasn't surprised. So the policewoman called the Udlændingservice, and the conversation went like this:
Woman (on the phone still): They say they don't have a decision.
Me: Well I just spoke to someone 45 minutes ago and they said it was here.
Woman: Okay, wait... (Comes back in 5 minutes) What was the name of the person?
Me: They didn't say.
Woman: Was it a man or a woman?
Me: It was a woman.
Woman (five more minutes later): I guess it is here, but you have to wait while we look for it.
Another 10 minutes later someone surfaced with the letter.
I've dealt with bureaucracy in my time, and seen my fair share of incompetence, but I've never experienced both simultaneously on such a massive scale. Udlændingservice, please get it together. I'm qualified for the job, I'm not going to mooch off your social services, I'm not going to kill any cartoonists, and I promise I'll teach really really well so that if some day one of my students ends up working in the foreigner service office, they'll do a better job than the ones there now.
Sincerely,
Matt
That joke isn't funny anymore. It's the one where your complete incompetence causes huge problems in my life. Remember last year when I applied for a work permit in the beginning of September and never received a reply in the ten months I was here? That wasn't funny. But okay, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt about that one. I applied while I was in the country, which you don't like ("subject to five year waiting period"), and it was probably a job that a Danish person could have done. But still, it wasn't funny was to call every week and have the exact same conversation each time. Here's how it went:
Me: I'm calling to check on my work permit application. My case number is ###.
Worker: Alright... Wow, you've been waiting a long time. (They would actually say this to me.) Let me just check something... Okay, well you should hear something soon, and I'll put a note in your file.
(Repeat for 9 months)
But this time it's different. My math and education degree can be put to good use teaching. I applied from California. And seeing as many of the teachers at my potential school (a small sample size) are not qualified to be teachers or don't have a math degree, it doesn't seem like the area around Aalborg is exactly teeming with qualified math teachers. And from what I've heard Denmark is lacking math teachers as well. So why did you write in your letter that someone from Denmark or the E.U. could be doing this job? You're right, there is probably a guy in central Slovakia that could do the job, but the fact is, he's not here! And by the way, I'm a native English speaker, which is pretty useful when the language of instruction is English.
You also wrote in that letter that I didn't have enough hours per week. It's really considerate of you to worry about how I'll spend my free time, but I think I can pass those hours myself. That must be the only reason you are worried about hours. It can't be because I'm not making enough money, because I would earn same amount as the monthly government stipend given to students. If it's enough for a Danish student, why can't it be enough for me? And I also live in some of the least expensive housing in Aalborg, so don't worry about rent.
The comedians you hire to work the phones at the Udlændingservice also aren't funny anymore. If I call one week, they will tell me I am on the positive list; the next week, I'm not (a huge difference in determining minimum hours, wages, processing time, etc.). Does anybody really know? I definitely still don't. And take last week for example, when I called and you said my decision had been made two weeks prior (which wasn't mentioned in phone calls!). It turns out you mailed it to my address from last year. Ever think there was a reason my new application didn't list any Danish address? I moved to a different apartment! So I rushed off to the police station, where the comedian on the phone said there was another copy (because for some reason they didn't know the result). The police station told me they didn't have anything. Honestly, I wasn't surprised. So the policewoman called the Udlændingservice, and the conversation went like this:
Woman (on the phone still): They say they don't have a decision.
Me: Well I just spoke to someone 45 minutes ago and they said it was here.
Woman: Okay, wait... (Comes back in 5 minutes) What was the name of the person?
Me: They didn't say.
Woman: Was it a man or a woman?
Me: It was a woman.
Woman (five more minutes later): I guess it is here, but you have to wait while we look for it.
Another 10 minutes later someone surfaced with the letter.
I've dealt with bureaucracy in my time, and seen my fair share of incompetence, but I've never experienced both simultaneously on such a massive scale. Udlændingservice, please get it together. I'm qualified for the job, I'm not going to mooch off your social services, I'm not going to kill any cartoonists, and I promise I'll teach really really well so that if some day one of my students ends up working in the foreigner service office, they'll do a better job than the ones there now.
Sincerely,
Matt
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Next Season
I've made my decision to return to HIK for next season. There were several factors that went into my decision, and ultimately I decided that this would be the best option for me. I'm back in California until 13 August, so the blog will be on hiatus for a while.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Final #2 v Marienlyst
First of all, hats off to Marienlyst for a well played final. I think over the course of the two matches they played some great volleyball, and they deserved to win.
We came out and from the first point played with a lot of energy and excitement, something that we've done all season when our backs are against the wall. I'm not sure if Marienlyst was nervous or caught off guard in the beginning, but they made a lot of mistakes and we took the first set pretty easily, 25-21.
We had a lot of momentum for the second set, and a lead of a couple points through most of it, but we just couldn't close the door on Marienlyst, and they were able to take advantage. It was some pretty exciting sideout volleyball at the end of the set with Marienlyst edging us out 30-28.
The loss in the second set took a lot of momentum out of our sails and fired up both Marienlyst and their crowd. The third and fourth sets belonged to them, and specifically, Shaun Powell. We had no answer for him as he continued to win nearly every ball in sideout and transition.
The team was pretty disappointed with the result, but in the end we have to be satisfied with how we did. We had some ups and downs but ultimately we peaked at the right time and were able to do some really good things as a group. I think I'll write a bit more later about the season as a whole and toss out some general thoughts about my time here.
I still haven't made any decision about returning to Aalborg for next season. I want to take some time to think it through, but I promise I'll let you loyal readers know when I do make a decision...
We came out and from the first point played with a lot of energy and excitement, something that we've done all season when our backs are against the wall. I'm not sure if Marienlyst was nervous or caught off guard in the beginning, but they made a lot of mistakes and we took the first set pretty easily, 25-21.
We had a lot of momentum for the second set, and a lead of a couple points through most of it, but we just couldn't close the door on Marienlyst, and they were able to take advantage. It was some pretty exciting sideout volleyball at the end of the set with Marienlyst edging us out 30-28.
The loss in the second set took a lot of momentum out of our sails and fired up both Marienlyst and their crowd. The third and fourth sets belonged to them, and specifically, Shaun Powell. We had no answer for him as he continued to win nearly every ball in sideout and transition.
The team was pretty disappointed with the result, but in the end we have to be satisfied with how we did. We had some ups and downs but ultimately we peaked at the right time and were able to do some really good things as a group. I think I'll write a bit more later about the season as a whole and toss out some general thoughts about my time here.
I still haven't made any decision about returning to Aalborg for next season. I want to take some time to think it through, but I promise I'll let you loyal readers know when I do make a decision...
Monday, April 14, 2008
Final #1 v Marienlyst
For the fifth time this season we faced Marienlyst, though this time under vastly different circumstances than the previous league and pokal matchups. The Marienlyst team that showed up at the Stadionhal Sunday was a very different team than the one who visited three weeks earlier, and they played a solid all around game to take the match in three sets (21-25, 20-25, 23-25). Thanks again to the 500+ people who attended the match, I know all the players really enjoyed playing in front of the great home crowd.
Like the previous three matches against Middelfart, we had trouble with our serve, though this time it wasn't due to misses. We didn't put enough pressure on Marienlyst, and they passed well enough out of reception to have three options on offense nearly every time. That limited our ability to block well and took away one of our biggest advantages in the matchup. So even though we sided out pretty well ourselves, not being able to get many points off our own serve ultimately cost us.
We conceded some points early in the first which put us in a hole for the remainder of that set, and ran into a rough patch in the middle of the second which led to a comfortable win for Marienlyst there. In the third, however, we had a two point lead for most of the set, including a 21-18 advantage near the end. We had some difficulties in reception, however, and Marienlyst were able to tie it up and eventually take the set after getting a couple points off counterattacks.
I think that the remainder of the series will come down to serving and blocking: the team that pressures the opposition with their serve and gets some blocks will end up taking the sets. Marienlyst got them Sunday, but we're ready to fight and there's no reason those points can't go our way in the second leg on Thursday.
Check out the videos:
TV2 at the game
Short Clip
Like the previous three matches against Middelfart, we had trouble with our serve, though this time it wasn't due to misses. We didn't put enough pressure on Marienlyst, and they passed well enough out of reception to have three options on offense nearly every time. That limited our ability to block well and took away one of our biggest advantages in the matchup. So even though we sided out pretty well ourselves, not being able to get many points off our own serve ultimately cost us.
We conceded some points early in the first which put us in a hole for the remainder of that set, and ran into a rough patch in the middle of the second which led to a comfortable win for Marienlyst there. In the third, however, we had a two point lead for most of the set, including a 21-18 advantage near the end. We had some difficulties in reception, however, and Marienlyst were able to tie it up and eventually take the set after getting a couple points off counterattacks.
I think that the remainder of the series will come down to serving and blocking: the team that pressures the opposition with their serve and gets some blocks will end up taking the sets. Marienlyst got them Sunday, but we're ready to fight and there's no reason those points can't go our way in the second leg on Thursday.
Check out the videos:
TV2 at the game
Short Clip
Monday, April 7, 2008
Semifinal #3 v Middelfart
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.
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.
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.
Sunday, March 30, 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.
Friday, February 1, 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.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Game v Marienlyst
We went down to Odense on Saturday for our third match of the season against Marienlyst. We knew what to expect from Marienlyst going into the match, but I was unsure what our side would look like. We were short-handed, and only had nine people fit for the match, with me (finger), Tue (knee) and Joakim (alarm clock) unavailable for various reasons. As I had mentioned in my previous post, we needed to do something good away from home to get some positive momentum going for the final third of the season.
The match started off well for us. Marienlyst was playing with some people in different positions and some new starters on the floor, and we were able to take advantage of that and lots of mistakes on their part in the first set, which we won 25-21.
The second set started off well for us, with a 6-1 lead before Marienlyst called their first time out. They had their best team out on the floor at that point, and they slowly chipped away at our lead, scoring a point or two off their own serve each time they sided out. They tied it up at 15 apiece, and from there went on a 10-3 run to finish us off 18-25.
The third and fourth sets went the same way as the rest of the second set. Their setter gave us a lot of trouble off his serve and we couldn't get much going off our own. At the beginning of the fourth set we missed four of the six serves in the first rotation. The third and fourth sets ended up easily in their favor, 15-25 and 17-25.
It's unfortunate we weren't able to take advantage of the big lead we had in the second set. It was interesting to see how the moment we let up with a couple bad plays and mental errors, Marienlyst was able to jump on it and take control of the set. They are usually a team that celebrates pretty loudly, and they had been relatively quiet for most of the match, quieter than us in fact, but the moment our volume and intensity dropped, theirs rose. Maybe that contributed to the fact that they just overwhelmed us the last two sets, but I'm sure it was more than that. If we had been able to play error-free like we did in the first set, I think it would have been a closer game, because by no means were Marienlyst playing as well as they had the last two times we played them at home.
At any rate, we have to put that match out of our minds now and turn our attention to our weekday game Thursday against Arhus. In what is arguably our most important match of the season thus far, we need a win to close the four point gap between us. Tomorrow is also a big day for me, as I have my checkup with the doctor, so hopefully I get the good news that I can play Thursday.
The match started off well for us. Marienlyst was playing with some people in different positions and some new starters on the floor, and we were able to take advantage of that and lots of mistakes on their part in the first set, which we won 25-21.
The second set started off well for us, with a 6-1 lead before Marienlyst called their first time out. They had their best team out on the floor at that point, and they slowly chipped away at our lead, scoring a point or two off their own serve each time they sided out. They tied it up at 15 apiece, and from there went on a 10-3 run to finish us off 18-25.
The third and fourth sets went the same way as the rest of the second set. Their setter gave us a lot of trouble off his serve and we couldn't get much going off our own. At the beginning of the fourth set we missed four of the six serves in the first rotation. The third and fourth sets ended up easily in their favor, 15-25 and 17-25.
It's unfortunate we weren't able to take advantage of the big lead we had in the second set. It was interesting to see how the moment we let up with a couple bad plays and mental errors, Marienlyst was able to jump on it and take control of the set. They are usually a team that celebrates pretty loudly, and they had been relatively quiet for most of the match, quieter than us in fact, but the moment our volume and intensity dropped, theirs rose. Maybe that contributed to the fact that they just overwhelmed us the last two sets, but I'm sure it was more than that. If we had been able to play error-free like we did in the first set, I think it would have been a closer game, because by no means were Marienlyst playing as well as they had the last two times we played them at home.
At any rate, we have to put that match out of our minds now and turn our attention to our weekday game Thursday against Arhus. In what is arguably our most important match of the season thus far, we need a win to close the four point gap between us. Tomorrow is also a big day for me, as I have my checkup with the doctor, so hopefully I get the good news that I can play Thursday.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Games v Gentofte and Middelfart
Last Saturday we went down to Copenhagen to play Gentofte. We had beaten them in 5 the last time we met, in what was a home match for us. I figured the reverse fixture to be more difficult because of our poor form away from home of late, but I still thought we could beat them if we played some solid volleyball.
The first set was tight the whole way, with several lead changes throughout. We got a lot of our points off tough serves that led to overpass kills by our front line, and the final score ended up in our favor, 26-24.
We dropped the second set 22-25, but a late run of points in that set gave us some momentum to begin the next. We took advantage and in the third set lead for nearly the whole time, including a 24-19 lead. Several consecutive errors on our part let them back into the set, which we ended up dropping 29-31.
The complete collapse in the third set gave all the momentum back to Gentofte, and we trailed early in the fourth. However, we strung together a few runs of points from our own serve and got some good blocks to bring things level at around 15. I made a comment that this was what had happened last time we played Gentofte, so things were still looking good for us in my mind. However, Gentofte settled down and took control, winning the fourth easily, 20-25.
I think we have to feel this is a match we could have won. We did a good job of getting touches on the block and digging balls on defense, but in the end we couldn't put balls away in transition, which ultimately cost us a lot of potential points on our own serve. Failing to put those balls away allowed Gentofte to stay in the match, and give them credit for taking advantage of their opportunities.
The following Tuesday night we headed down to Middelfart for a make-up match that originally was scheduled during the Olympic volleyball qualifiers for Denmark. Middelfart was fresh off a win over Marienlyst (that few likely saw coming), so they had been playing some good volleyball lately without a doubt.
They ended up beating us in three, 18-25, 20-25, and 20-25. There were points in each set where the score was close, but ultimately Middelfart would pull away. The biggest problem for us was that there was at least one instance in each set where Middelfart went on a run of five or more points; in the third set they scored nine in a row.
I'd be interested to see the blocking statistics from this game, because that is definitely how they scored so many consecutive points. From my thinking back on the match, I would say they got around 15, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was higher. On our side of the net, our passing was pretty good for the match, but we didn't get much going in the middle, which I think is our best advantage over Middelfart. That led to a lot of two-man blocks on the outside and points for the opposition.
With two frustrating losses (for very different reasons) in a row, we have eleven days to prepare for an away game at Marienlyst (who is playing in the pokalfinal against Middelfart Sunday). I think it will be an important match for many reasons, perhaps most of all because we need to turn in a convincing performance away from home after three poor away matches (counting back to Hvidovre).
The last two matches have been difficult for me to watch, because I feel like I could make a difference if I was able to play. I can move my finger (nearly) into a fist without pain, but it still hurts like hell if anything moves it sideways or even if it gets jostled too much. High fives from Jonas don't feel too great either... I'm hoping to be ready for our home match against Århus, so keep your fingers crossed and we will see what the doctor says next Monday.
The first set was tight the whole way, with several lead changes throughout. We got a lot of our points off tough serves that led to overpass kills by our front line, and the final score ended up in our favor, 26-24.
We dropped the second set 22-25, but a late run of points in that set gave us some momentum to begin the next. We took advantage and in the third set lead for nearly the whole time, including a 24-19 lead. Several consecutive errors on our part let them back into the set, which we ended up dropping 29-31.
The complete collapse in the third set gave all the momentum back to Gentofte, and we trailed early in the fourth. However, we strung together a few runs of points from our own serve and got some good blocks to bring things level at around 15. I made a comment that this was what had happened last time we played Gentofte, so things were still looking good for us in my mind. However, Gentofte settled down and took control, winning the fourth easily, 20-25.
I think we have to feel this is a match we could have won. We did a good job of getting touches on the block and digging balls on defense, but in the end we couldn't put balls away in transition, which ultimately cost us a lot of potential points on our own serve. Failing to put those balls away allowed Gentofte to stay in the match, and give them credit for taking advantage of their opportunities.
The following Tuesday night we headed down to Middelfart for a make-up match that originally was scheduled during the Olympic volleyball qualifiers for Denmark. Middelfart was fresh off a win over Marienlyst (that few likely saw coming), so they had been playing some good volleyball lately without a doubt.
They ended up beating us in three, 18-25, 20-25, and 20-25. There were points in each set where the score was close, but ultimately Middelfart would pull away. The biggest problem for us was that there was at least one instance in each set where Middelfart went on a run of five or more points; in the third set they scored nine in a row.
I'd be interested to see the blocking statistics from this game, because that is definitely how they scored so many consecutive points. From my thinking back on the match, I would say they got around 15, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was higher. On our side of the net, our passing was pretty good for the match, but we didn't get much going in the middle, which I think is our best advantage over Middelfart. That led to a lot of two-man blocks on the outside and points for the opposition.
With two frustrating losses (for very different reasons) in a row, we have eleven days to prepare for an away game at Marienlyst (who is playing in the pokalfinal against Middelfart Sunday). I think it will be an important match for many reasons, perhaps most of all because we need to turn in a convincing performance away from home after three poor away matches (counting back to Hvidovre).
The last two matches have been difficult for me to watch, because I feel like I could make a difference if I was able to play. I can move my finger (nearly) into a fist without pain, but it still hurts like hell if anything moves it sideways or even if it gets jostled too much. High fives from Jonas don't feel too great either... I'm hoping to be ready for our home match against Århus, so keep your fingers crossed and we will see what the doctor says next Monday.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Best Possible News
After preparing myself to have surgery Monday morning, I showed up to the hospital and the hand specialist/surgeon said that I was not going to have it after all. According to her, there are two small, hard bones on the big knuckle on the palm-side of each of your fingers. When my finger broke, one of those small bones came apart from the finger (which would have been the chunk of bone I saw in the x-ray). If she were to go in and perform surgery, it would cause significant damage to the ligaments and tendons of the finger, so it turns out the best solution is to let the finger heal naturally.
I have a splint over the top of my finger that prevents me from bending it backwards or sideways at all. Every two hours I am supposed to try to make a fist and bend my pinky forward as much as I can. Right now there isn't much movement because it is still really swollen, but she says I should start seeing some progress soon. I have to wear the splint for three weeks, and I'll go see her again in two weeks to have a checkup. I'm happy to not have had the surgery, and things ended up working out as best they could, all things considered. I've started drinking lots of milk and taking more vitamins to help it heal, and I'm open to suggestions, so if you know any miracle bone-growth home remedies feel free to leave some comments...
I have a splint over the top of my finger that prevents me from bending it backwards or sideways at all. Every two hours I am supposed to try to make a fist and bend my pinky forward as much as I can. Right now there isn't much movement because it is still really swollen, but she says I should start seeing some progress soon. I have to wear the splint for three weeks, and I'll go see her again in two weeks to have a checkup. I'm happy to not have had the surgery, and things ended up working out as best they could, all things considered. I've started drinking lots of milk and taking more vitamins to help it heal, and I'm open to suggestions, so if you know any miracle bone-growth home remedies feel free to leave some comments...
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Bad News
I had a good Christmas break, visiting Spain and France with friends from home. However, during warm ups in the second practice back (Friday) while playing defense in pepper, a ball hit at my chest put my left pinky finger sideways at about a 45 degree angle. I had Morten put it back into place and iced it and put it into a splint. A day of rest saw no improvement however, so today I went to the hospital to have a doctor look at it and take some x-rays. The x-rays showed a sizeable chunk of bone floating near my big knuckle and the doctor says I need to have surgery Monday, and I will be out at least four weeks.
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