The volleyball players of Samen Lycurgus have a place in the final duels for the Dutch championship. The Groningen team is the leader in the championship group after the 3-0 victory over Limax.
The men of coach Arjan Taaij took over the first place in the group on Sunday from Dynamo. That lost 3-2 at home to Orion from Doetinchem, so that both teams are now in second and third place with 20 points respectively. Lycurgus leads with 21 points and is within reach of reaching the finals with two games to go in the championship pool.
The two top teams will eventually compete for the title. If Lycurgus wins big against Dynamo at home on Saturday, it will have achieved that goal. However, in the event of a loss, the match against Orion must still be won. Coach Taaij of the Groningers does not want to get ahead of things yet and sell the skin before the bear has been shot. .
Coach Arjan Taaij: We’re not there yet
“We are not yet definitively where we want to be,” Taaij said on the Lycurgus website. ,,We have to stay focused to finish in the top two in the championship group. We played a good game against Limax with good side-outs. We got three points because we were sharp and consistent. We adhered well to the orders and carried out the tasks. We also played with the heart, especially in the third set. A big compliment to the team, but we have nothing yet. But if we do what we have to do, we can secure a spot in the final. Now there is euphoria after this victory, but on Monday our attention must be fully focused on what we can influence the most. That’s our own game.”
In Sint Odiliënberg in Limburg, Lycurgus won the sets 22-25, 21-25 and 29-31 against Limax, which is in fourth place in the championship group with 13 points. The Groningen players played with the same basic players, who had won 3-1 at home against Sliedrecht Sport on Thursday. These were Canadian Jacob Kern, Americans Ryan Coenen and Kyle McCauley, Luuk Hofhuis, Niels de Vries, Jeffrey Klok and Markus Held.
Captain Ryan Coenen redeems the third match point
The third set caused the most problems for Lycurgus. Although the Groningen team led 1-4, Limax then fought to take a 12-8 lead. But his men did not lack fighting spirit and ‘heart’, as Taaij called it, on Sunday. Lycurgus fought his way closer point by point, after which a service ace from playmaker Markus Held tied the score at 20-20.
After that, both teams had chances to win the set. Lycurgus would win the match with a set win, but it took a while before that happened. Only the third match point was cashed in by captain Coenen, winning the set 29-31 and the match 3-0.