26/02/2019 13:30
Timo Tammemaa wants to serve another match point for Greenyard MAASEIK
News from the clubs
Maaseik, Belgium, February 26, 2019. Last season Timo Tammemaa set Maaseik’s Steengoed Arena on fire, when he nailed a spectacular ace to offer the Belgians an unexpected 3-2 triumph over Polish champions Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE in the pool stage of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Champions League.
This year his teammate Aleks Grozdanov did the same, when serving successfully at match point in the 3-0 win against PGE Skra BELCHATOW. However, at match point in the last home game against BERLIN Recycling Volleys, Greenyard MAASEIK could not produce such a decisive ace for another 3-0 victory. On the contrary, the visitors surprised the Belgians with a massive comeback for a 3-2 victory and MAASEIK saw their qualification chances slipping away.
This coming Wednesday, 27-year-old Estonian Timo Tammemaa feels ready to produce another lethal serve at match point against current pool leaders Trefl GDANSK.
“Against that kind of teams at match point, you just have to serve hard,” he reveals his winning recipe. “And then you have to be a bit lucky that your serve lands in the corner. But against Zaksa, it was indeed one of the most beautiful aces in my career.”
That career started in Kuressaare, a city in Saaremaa, an island west of the Estonian mainland. “Many youngsters in Saaremaa choose Volleyball. So did I, but at 17 I left my home town for the capital Tallinn, where I went to the local Volleyball school.”
Three years ago the middle blocker left Estonia for a first campaign abroad with France’s Spacer’s TOULOUSE VB, before choosing Maaseik. Since then, Belgium has had a special meaning for Tammemaa. “Two years ago, Belgium was too strong for the Estonian national team in the qualification round for the 2017 edition of the CEV European Championship. We got our revenge last summer, by eliminating Belgium on the road to our final victory in the Golden European League. Unfortunately, we did not make it to the Volleyball Nations League.”
Yet, this year’s European Championship will be a huge challenge for the Baltic state. “The draw put us in a group with Poland. Maybe, I would better not show too much of my abilities against GDANSK,” he smiles.
“No, seriously” he corrects himself. “Every Champions League game is too important. Whether we can still qualify or not, we want to reach our highest level and we want to win this game. Why not? In Gdansk we already won the first set, and I believe we can do better at home.”
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