Matchday against the leading team of the division! The excitement in the cars of Lund’s B team was huge when they took the long way up to Engelholm. But arriving at the Rönnehallen, we were quite surprised. Not only was a fairly large audience expecting us but also did we find several players of Engelholm’s Division 1 team on the court. A debatable move, yet, it got us even more energized!
And as the first set started, it was Engelholm being surprised. Lund’s team began with such power, organized defense and smart attacks that they almost easily won the first set by 17-25. But Engelholm had been undefeated until then for a reason and they upshifted for the consecutive sets as well. The result was three intense sets with awesome attacks, players flying crisscross over Lund’s site and Volleyball on a level, which could be considered higher than only Division 2. As a result the two teams had to go into a fifth set (after 25-21, 25-22 and 21-25). For the last set Engelholm even sent 4 (!) players usually playing Div. 1 on the field which, however, did not change the fact that two equal teams were beating balls round each others heads. Unfortunately, the host could decide this amazing game with a 15-11 score in the last set.
Though having lost, we did not only get one point but also the insight that our hard training lifted us on a level which definitely makes us hungry for remaining at the top group of the league. One prime example for this is MVP Mikael Henrikson who acted like a flying wall in the center and gave even the enemy’s top spikers a hard time to score. Our aim is to keep this level and advance it so we get three points the next time we meet this great opponent. But before that happens, the squad from Ystad is inviting us next weekend for another match against one of the division’s superior teams!
MVP Mikael Henrikson
Written by Philipp Fischer