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.
Monday, January 28, 2008
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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