Lycurgus from Groningen is becoming more and more of a volleyball machine. SSS is defeated 3-0 in Barneveld

Coach Arjan Taaij’s men are increasingly becoming a well-oiled volleyball machine. After ZVH had already won at home last Saturday with the maximum marks, Lycurgus also handled SSS impeccably in Barneveld. The Barnevelders were the surprise of the regular season last season, during which they were briefly at the top of the Premier League, and they also have a good team this year. But that was no match for the multiple national champions on Wednesday evening, who has more quality.

There was little to argue about the visitors’ 3-0 victory. Frequently scoring Kyle McCauley played his best game so far for Lycurgus. The American passer-runner, who extended his contract in Groningen for a year, could hardly be stopped by the SSS blockage. He scored fourteen times. Another standout was center forward Robin Boekhoudt, who came over from reigning national champions Dynamo for this season. He was effective with his short hard punches and his deadly blocks. In addition, since the start of the competition, the Groningen team has again had libero Jeffrey Klok, who has been part of the Dutch team in recent months. The brand new international excelled against SSS in processing hard balls fired over the net, which he then passed well to his teammates.

Lycurgus was serving well

Lycurgus served better than the home team, which has undergone some changes since last season. For example, SSS took over with playmaker Tieme de Jong. The former Lycurgus player is doing well in Barneveld, where he has won a starting place. But he also could not prevent the Groningers from winning the first set 22-25. This was partly due to the American diagonal player Cal Fisher. After an initially even battle, he made the difference with a number of hard and difficult serves. Lycurgus led 10-14 and 13-18 and had the initiative in the match.

That does not mean that SSS had little in return, because that was not the case. The Barnevelders had enough quality to make it an attractive match with nice rallies, but were generally unable to cope with the service pressure from Lycurgus. The home team mainly scored the necessary points when Groningen players occasionally hit services into the net or outside the field. But otherwise Lycurgus’ defense was often good, after which American playmaker Cale Bogner was able to serve his attackers excellently. In addition to McCauley and Boekhoudt, Fisher, his compatriot Cole Gillis and Niels de Vries also benefited from this, all of whom were on a scoring roll. Lycurgus reached a second set point at 22-24 in the first set, which was converted by Boekhoudt at 22-25.

The second set goes on for a long time

In the second set it was also an even battle, which lasted longer than in the previous set. Despite once again great saves from libero Jeffrey Klok, SSS managed to close to 20-20. But thanks to a net service from SSS and a hit from Fisher, the gap was once again in Groningen’s favor at 21-23. That was ultimately enough for the visitors to take a 2-0 lead with a 23-25 ​​set win. Lycurgus received the last point as a gift through a network service from SSS. The Barnevelders also include former Lycurgus player Ferdy van Dijk in the selection, but he remained sidelined for the entire game.

The final set turned out to be an anticlimax for the until then combative Barnevelders. The increasingly improving Lycurgus had destroyed SSS. The home team barely managed to get through offensively and were no longer a match for the Groningers defensively. This led to an increasing lead for Lycurgus in the third set, while SSS started to make a despondent impression. The visitors took 10-16 and 12-19 leads and went on to win the third set without any problems and a lot of resistance. The score was 17-25, meaning Lycurgus could board the bus back to Groningen with a deserved 3-0 win.

Lygurcus fourth with nine points

Coach Taaij’s team, which has only lost away to Sliedrecht Sport so far, is in fourth place in the Premier League after the midweek program with nine points from four matches. The leader is Orion with the maximum score of twelve points, followed by Limax and Sliedrecht Sport with eleven and ten points respectively.