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
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