17/12/2015 23:38
Cold weather at Arctic Circle does not stop Eurosped – TVT ALMELO
2016 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup – Women
Rovaniemi, Finland, December 17, 2015. The players of Wovo ROVANIEMI and the arctic weather of the home town of Santa Claus could not stop the march of Eurosped – TVT ALMELO from the Netherlands in the 2016 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup – Women. Though they suffered a heavy loss in the opening set, the Dutchies were able to win the re-match with ROVANIEMI by 3:2 (12-25, 28-26, 25-16, 20-25, 15-8) to claim a spot in the Round of 16 of the competition.
Wovo ROVANIEMI started the match strongly and claimed a clear lead right at the beginning of the first set. As expected, Wovo served a lot better than in the previous match in Holland, causing problems to the Dutch receivers and so ALMELO’s offensive game was also affected. As a result, Wovo scored as many as 17 points in attack in the first set. Middle blocker Jazmine White and opposite Kristiine Miilen (pictured, #2) were the most effective players from the home side on the way to a massive 25-12 set win.
The second set was the thriller of the day. The teams scored at equal pace, the biggest difference during the set being three points. ALMELO was just a bit stronger in the last rallies, and won the set in overtime by 28-26.
In the third set it looked like the home team could repeat their performance from the first one. Wovo took pretty quickly the lead (12:8) but that was the turning point of the game as ALMELO scored nine points in a row. Wovo had problems in reception, and were not able to score with their spikers. Thus ALMELO won the third set quite easy (25-16), and with it they also claimed a spot in the next round of the competition.
Since ALMELO had won the third set, the rest of the match was insignificant. Both coaches made practically all possible changes to their respective starting six, and all players were able to enjoy the feeling of performing in the Challenge Cup. Wovo won the fourth set, and ALMELO the fifth, this way bringing the match to an end with a 3:2 away victory.
Eurosped captain Jeanine Stoeten and coach Jan Berendsen said that the strong start of Wovo in the beginning of the match was a bit of a surprise, even though they did not expect an easy match. Berendsen also said that either team could have won the second set, but this time they had just a bit more luck on their side.
Wovo captain Heidi Rovanperä and coach Teemu Mäkikyrö shared the same disappointment for losing the second set and for the decisive turn in the third period. They had believed in their chance of winning this match and were hoping to go for a golden set.
Click here for more info including detailed stats of the match
|