16/12/2015 01:30
Wovo ROVANIEMI welcome Eurosped to the home town of Santa Claus
2016 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup - Women
Rovaniemi, Finland, December 15, 2015. Last week Eurosped – TVT ALMELO of the Netherlands made a huge step towards their qualification to the Round of 16 in the 2016 edition of the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup – Women when they easily claimed their home match against Finland’s rookies Wovo ROVANIEMI. Still the Finns are full of enthusiasm and motivation before their first home match in the European Cups since the re-make with ALMELO which is due to follow on Thursday night will coincide with the first European Cup match ever played by the team from the home town of Santa Claus.
“Last week we played our first European Cup match ever, and of course the excitement was visible in our way of playing,” says Wovo head coach Teemu Mäkikyrö. “But now we feel more ready to take on this re-match, and playing in front of the home audience it will be like having a seventh player performing for us on court.”
The way the match developed last week in the Netherlands confirms that Wovo stands some chances of a comeback at home. The first set of that game was clearly won by Eurosped, but the final score in the third period was 25-23, and Wovo claimed the lead in that set a couple of times.
“Serve and reception are the keys to control the match. I believe that our serve will be more difficult to handle for our opponent once we play in Santasport Arena than it was in Twente,” says Mäkikyrö. “On the other hand, I expect our reception to improve on home court as well, which will give our setter more opportunities and variety in building up our offensive game.”
In the Finnish national league, Santasport arena is well-known as a difficult place for away teams. The home team players will always give their best effort when performing in front of about 1,000 spectators cheering for them.
“We do not expect any Christmas presents on Thursday, we intend to make it a good match just through our own performance,” concludes Mäkikyrö.
The team of Eurosped will be travelling to the Arctic Circle on Wednesday, and will arrive at Rovaniemi in the afternoon. No matter whether Christmas presents are given or received, they will anyway meet Santa Claus on Friday!
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