VOLLEYBALL – Play against a competitor in the basement EVV with pressure on the kettle or freely? Olhaco from Hoogeveen has not yet found the winning formula in the top division and remains very last due to a home defeat against the visitors from Elburg: 1-3.
At 8-16 in the first set, trainer/coach of Olhaco Menno Volkerink fled into the time-out for the second time in a short time. “We are in the corner where the blows fall. It is sometimes elusive that we fail. In such a time-out you try to get peace of mind in the team,” says Volkerink after the defeat.
25-10
Olhaco came back to 23-24, had to give up the set anyway and took set two with no less than 25-10. “Then the service pressure is high and we make very few mistakes. We are able to achieve that high level, but we show that far too little this season. Maybe it is tension.”
The Hoogeveners have only won twice this season. The last league win was booked in October 2021. Even in the new calendar year after the lockdown, things are not going to go smoothly at Olhaco. After 25-10, EVV straightened out. The number penultimate took all points in the relegation game after 18-25 and 22-25.
To swallow
“Am I despondent? No, I will continue to fight and tomorrow is a new day,” Volkerink concludes. “But I find it difficult to see the boys like this. They have been defeated. We wanted so badly to win today. This is swallowing.”