The volleyball players of Samen Lycurgus were unable to cope with reigning national champion Dynamo in their first practice match on Wednesday evening in Groningen. The Apeldoorners won four of the five sets played.
That in itself doesn’t say much. After all, the people of Groningen are still a little less prepared than their opponent. In addition, the much renewed Lycurgus is still far from complete and is missing players due to injuries and international obligations. For example, brand new international Jeffrey Klok, who played the European Championship with the Dutch team, only joined the selection at the beginning of October. The libero will participate in the Olympic qualifying tournament in China from the end of September, where two tickets for Paris can be earned.
Arjan Taaij, who is starting his eleventh season as head coach, told his players afterwards what he thought of the game in the Alfa-college sports center. The always critical Groninger had seen enough that could be much better. The passing in particular still left a lot to be desired. Lycurgus was better at blocking, with newcomer Robin Boekhoudt asserting himself. The 2.05 meter tall center man won the national title with Dynamo in the past two years. He has started a new adventure at Lycurgus.
It wasn’t good by a long shot
“It was far from good,” Taaij concluded. “But that’s not surprising. It was a baptism of fire for a number of boys. They are here on the field for the first time and also as a team. We are also not complete at all and have only trained and played very little. Then we struggle with the level that is inherent to where we are at the moment. That made it difficult for us.”
Lycurgus still had to do without the American acquisitions Cal Fisher (diagonal) and Cole Gillis (passer-runner) due to injuries. Taaij: “We hope that they will be fit again in time. We also know that Klok will be back soon and Kyle McCauley (currently on his way to the American under-23 team, ed.). Fisher had a minor procedure in his meniscus. He is now recovering from that. We are a bit more concerned about Gillis, who has serious patellar tendon complaints. He already had some complaints, but we really noticed it when he trained with us for the first time. There is still a lot of work to be done.”
Very satisfied with the composition of this team
Of course, the objective of Lycurgus, which won the national cup last season, is to win the premier league title. “That is no different than other years,” said Taaij. “We are very satisfied with the composition of this team. If the players who cannot yet participate join in later, it will help to raise the entire level. Today was the first time at this level for Niels Kuijpens (libero, ed.) and Arjan Westra (center man). They need time to get used to the speed and pressure of the game.”
The 23-year-old American Cole Bogner will fill the playmaker position with Sam Gorthuis, who returned to his old home in Groningen after two seasons in Belgium. “It was good to play this match and see where we are compared to a strong team like Dynamo,” said Bogner, who is already having a great time in Groningen. “It’s beautiful here. I chose Lycurgus for more reasons: the volleyball, the area, the players and the coaches. All that together. I want to gain experience and get better.” He calls himself a fanatical player. “I like to play fast.”
I expect that we can still make significant progress
Routinier Niels de Vries is ready for a new season of top volleyball after surgery on his elbow. “Seven loose pieces of bone were removed. As a result, I can rotate and stretch my arm again, but the muscles still have some starting-up complaints. As far as our game is concerned, there is room for improvement. That is not crazy. You shouldn’t expect too much from your first practice match. We still have more than a month until the start of the season. I expect that we can still make significant progress.”