The Road to the Championship

Thursday 27th : Venus

Same conditions as last time we played them so check my other reviews for details.

They apparently prepared to face us because nobody tried their usual jump-smashed serves and their floating serves really put a lot of strain on our passing line. We’re completely overwhelmed in the first set as I have so much distance to cover and don’t have time to think of a solution.
Score : 25-16

The second set is more balanced since our receivers are starting to get a grip of the opponent’s floating serves. We’re tied at 22-22 but again, we made 2 errors in passing and they didn’ t miss their opportunity to end it there.
Score : 25-22

The third set finally see us lead, which we managed to keep until the end of the set. Comparatively, our passing lines has stabilized and I was finally able to concentrate on the tactical part of my game. I kept putting pressure with my centers and it’s only logical I give Steeve (2nd central blocker) the set ball.
Score : 20-25

The fourth set is a heated battle between our attacking line and theirs. They took the upper hand by relying a lot on Thierry and took the lead at the second technical time out (16-12). From them on, they managed to keep the sideout and they increased their lead when we started making passing mistakes again, 21-18. We couldn’t recover that kind of handicap with our low morale and finally lost the match.
Score : 25-23

Here’s your regular press coverage of the match :

Overall, I’m satisfied of my game as I didn’t make more mistakes than in other matches. Their game plan which consisted on using floating serves really made the task easier for them since I have to run all over the place to catch the ball and deliver it to my attackers...

Now we know we’re condemned to win against Tefana in 2 days...