11/11/2015 22:50
Real Finnish drama ends with happy end for LP KANGASALA
2016 CEV Volleyball Cup - Women
Kangasala, Finland, November 11, 2015. On Wednesday night about 850 fans witnessed two and a half hours of enthralling Volleyball actions in Kangasala where the home heroines of LP KANGASALA first lost to SF PARIS Saint Cloud at the tie-break (25-22, 20-25, 20-25, 26-24, 13-15) but after that won the golden set that followed (15-9) to make it to the Round of 16 in the 2016 CEV Volleyball Cup – Women. Two weeks ago LP KANGASALA had claimed a 3:2 away win in Paris and though they had many ups and downs at home the Finns could capitalise on this small edge to historically progress to the next round of Europe’s second most prestigious club competition.
The home team of LP KANGASALA started the match well, and took the first set after a close fight with their outside spiker Allison Mayfield playing a key role. In the second set the French visitors changed gear and especially middle blocker Grace Carter and opposite Alessia Fiesoli seemed too much to stand for the Finnish blocking and defence. Both the second and third sets eventually went to PARIS SF Saint Cloud after their Belgian-born coach Stijn Morand changed setter and opposite, thereby igniting a great performance by his side.
As they entered the court for the fourth set, the home heroines still stood a chance of securing their promotion to the next round. By winning at least two sets LP KANGASALA could even lose the tie-break and a golden set would anyway have followed. PARIS started the fourth set strong, but little by little the home team closed in, finally levelling the score right before the second technical time-out. At this point it was time for the American opposite of LP KANGASALA, Shelby Dalton, to take her side by the hand and seal a much needed 26-24 set win.
The fifth set initially turned into a two-woman show by LP KANGASALA setter Elizabeth Koberstein and opposite Dalton. However, PARIS did not give in and with the help of Alessia Fiesoli they got the upper hand. This meant that after over two hours and five sets of action, there was one more set – the ‘golden one’ – to play.
In the golden set that followed the home team served hard and showed great blocking and defence as well, and at the end when the result really counted the most and the rally was to be finished, there was always Shelby Dalton to count on. As they sealed their 15-9 set win, LP KANGASALA could start the party for making the second round of the CEV Volleyball Cup for the first time in their club’s history.
The coach of LP KANGASALA, Ismo Tahvanainen, commented: “I am really happy with the final result. The team continued to fight even when we trailed one set to two and even after losing the match we came back strong and claimed the golden set. We followed our tactics even through the difficult moments of this match. Serving and blocking were the two assets for our successful run in the golden set, as well as the great performance delivered by Shelby Dalton tonight.”
Stijn Morand, SF PARIS Saint Cloud coach, commented: “We knew already it was not going to be an easy game. Both teams played well, and we did really well when we claimed the fifth and final set of the return match. We played well in all fundamentals but we lacked a player who could take responsibility and finish the rallies in the deciding moments. Our opponent, on the other hand, could count on an unstoppable Dalton, and quite significantly she claimed the final point of the golden set.”
Click here for more info including detailed stats of the match
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