The volleyball players of Nova Tech Lycurgus achieved their first victory in the championship pool on Sunday afternoon. The Groningers were too strong for Limax in Limburg with 3-1.
Coach Arjan Taaij’s men played a good match and can again look at the top two places in the group. These entitle you to direct qualification for the semi-finals of the Dutch championship. The top two places are now occupied by Orion (eight points) and Dynamo (nine points) respectively, but Lycurgus comes close with four points. Due to their victory, the Groningen team rose to third place in the standings at the expense of Limax.
If Lycurgus does not finish among the top two teams in the championship pool, there will not immediately be a man left over. In that case, the team faces a match against one of the teams that end up at the top of the relegation group. The winner will still qualify for the semi-finals for the Dutch title.
Martinez Gion does well as a diagonal
Lycurgus showed against Limax in Sint Odiliënberg that if it continues to play like this, it does not have to be afraid of any other team. That was remarkable, because the previous match against Dynamo in Apeldoorn was lost 3-0 due to poor play. Furthermore, coach Taaij had to improvise for the match in Limburg. He had no real diagonal at his disposal, because he could not use Kay van Dijk and Thomas Sleurink had been disciplined. As a result, veteran Ramon Martinez Gion, who is normally a passer-runner, played as a diagonal. He did that properly.
Gion not only scored the necessary points, but was also often important for Lycurgus by serving well. An even battle initially developed in the first set, in which Limax was slightly better than the Groningers in several facets of the game. The Limburgers took a 1-0 lead via a 25-20 set win.
Lycurgus finds his feet
But the men of coach Guido Görtzen, who is leaving after this season, could not always maintain that high level. That was certainly the merit of Lycurgus, which started to find its feet from the second set. In addition to Martinez Gion, the Americans Cole Gillis and Kyle McCauley and the middle attackers Luuk Hofhuis and Robin Boekhoudt became increasingly dangerous. The Groningers arrived in the big points took the lead, after which Martinez Gion decided the set with a smash: 23-25 and 1-1 draw.
Third set is a wear and tear battle
The third set then became a real battle of attrition. Limax received several set points, but they were always canceled out by the cool-headed Groningers. But Lycurgus also failed to decide the set at 25-26 and 27-28. That was only the case at 28-28 when Gillis scored first and then his compatriot McCauley. The visitors took a 2-1 lead at 28-30.
In the fourth set Limax’s resistance was broken. Lycurgus was four or five points ahead and no longer in danger. The Groningers won the set 20-25 and the game 1-3. They danced around with joy.
Limax-Lycurgus 1-3
Set positions: 25-20, 23-25, 28-30 and 20-25.
Next game: Sunday Groningen, 3 p.m.: Lycurgus-Dynamo.