15/03/2016 18:27
Estonia’s PÄRNU VC claim long-awaited first title in Baltic League
News from the National Federations
Pärnu, Estonia, March 15, 2016. The ‘League of Hundred’ – formerly known as Schenker Volleyball League – which brings together teams from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania reached its climax last weekend in Pärnu with the home side eventually celebrating their first triumph in the prestigious Baltic League.
PÄRNU VC have been the local powerhouse for many years already, winning multiple Estonian Cup titles and national championships but they had never made it to the top in the Baltic League. Going into this year’s Finals, they had a record of two silver medal plus one bronze in this competition.
The hosts of this year’s final tournament made no mistakes and seized the crown. In the semis PÄRNU VC had to stand a tough fight against their countrymen of RAKVERE VC which eventually ended with their 3-1 victory (27-25, 18-25, 25-21, 25-18). In the final match Latvia’s VC Biolars/JELGAVA seemed to be able to pose a real threat only in the third set where they claimed a 16-12 lead but after that the home guys got back full control of the game to cruise to a compelling 3-0 win (25-17, 25-20, 25-20). League of Hundred MVP Hindrek Pulk (pictured below, #11) scored 47 points in two matches he contested over the weekend, whilst Timo Tammemaa recorded 28, including 12 blocks.
“We had a very good start and we managed to put pressure on JELGAVA throughout the whole match. In the third set they led but we remained confident that we would have secured another victory,” said Tammemaa.
The libero of VC Biolars/JELGAVA Austris Štāls commented: “It was a hard match because PÄRNU VC played very well throughout the whole game. Key elements were their service and reception where they were clearly better than us.”
The most thrilling match of the final tournament was the bronze medal game. Having made their first ever trip to the Final Four, Estonia’s RAKVERE VC were close to ending their Baltic League season in third place. The first set was one to remember. Both RAKVERE VC and Latvia’s OZOLNIEKI had their chances, before after more than half an hour the Estonian side finally took the game by 36-34. After that RAKVERE VC won the second set by 25-22 but then it was OZOLNIEKI’s time to respond.
In the two sets that followed RAKVERE VC scored only 27 points. However, in the decisive set the Estonians sprinted to a 10-5 lead. OZOLNIEKI, the team that had won the first edition of the Baltic League back in 2006, made one more remarkable comeback, levelling the score and eventually seizing the victory 15-13. The real star of the game was OZOLNIEKI’s opposite Ansis Medenis (pictured below) who finished the match on an impressive tally of 39 points.
Even though PÄRNU VC claimed the top spot of the podium, it was a very good year for Latvian clubs in the Baltic League since they hadn’t been in the finals for quite some time and had only won two medals since the inaugural edition held in 2005/2006. After some years of absence, Lithuania returned to compete in the Baltic League. Having ended the regular season in fifth place, VILNIUS Flamingo Volley-SM Tauras played a very competitive quarter-final series against VC Biolars/JELGAVA, losing the decisive match by 2-3.
Click here for a video clip reviewing the top 10 moments of the Final Four tournament held in Pärnu
League of Hundred Final Four Results
Semi-finals
PÄRNU VC vs RAKVERE VC 3-1 (27-25, 18-25, 25-21, 25-18)
VC Biolars/JELGAVA vs Poliurs/OZOLNIEKI 3-1 (25-14, 25-16, 24-26, 25-21)
Bronze medal match
RAKVERE VC vs Poliurs/OZOLNIEKI 2-3 (36-34, 25-22, 16-25, 11-25, 13-15)
Gold medal match
PÄRNU VC vs VC Biolars/JELGAVA 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-20)
Individual Awards
MVP & Best Opposite: Hindrek Pulk (PÄRNU VC)
Best Spiker: Andrus Raadik (PÄRNU VC)
2nd Best Spiker: Ansis Medenis (Poliurs/OZOLNIEKI)
Best Middle Blocker: Timo Tammemaa (PÄRNU VC)
2nd Best Middle Blocker: Peteris Aukmanis (VC Biolars/JELGAVA)
Best Setter: Martti Keel (PÄRNU VC)
Best Libero: Austris Štals (VC Biolars/JELGAVA)
Final standing of 2015-2016 League of Hundred
1. PÄRNU VC (EST)
2. VC Biolars/JELGAVA (LAT)
3. Poliurs/OZOLNIEKI (LAT)
4. RAKVERE VC (EST)
5. Selver TALLINN (EST)
6. RIGA RTU/Robežsardze (LAT)
7. VILNIUS Flamingo Volley-SM Tauras (LTU)
8. Bigbank TARTU (EST)
9. DAUGAVPILS Universitate (LAT)
10. TTÜ TALLINN (EST)
11. SC JEKABPILS Luši (LAT)
12. JÄRVAMAA VC (EST)
13. ASK/KULDIGA (LAT)
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