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.