The volleyball players of Samen Lycurgus did what they had to do against Sliedrecht Sport. That was a 3-0 win.
Lycurgus was able to add three points again due to the second maximum victory in a row in the championship group. As a result, the Groningers, who are currently in third place, continue to compete for the top two places. The two clubs that finish highest in the championship pool will ultimately play the final matches for the Dutch title.
Lycurgus still has to tolerate Dynamo from Apeldoorn and Limax in Limburg. After Wednesday evening’s easy 3-0 win against Sliedrecht Sport, the men of coach Arjan Taaij Limax are breathing heavily. The Limburgers, who lost 3-0 at home to Dynamo, have eleven points. Lycurgus is on nine points, while Dynamo is the new leader with thirteen points.
Lycurgus can take over second place with a win at Limax on Sunday
The squatter against Limax is scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Groningen. If Lycurgus wins 3-0 or 3-1, it will jump over the Limburgers to second place in the championship pool. To reach that position, the Groningen team first had to deal with Sliedrecht Sport on Wednesday evening, a team that had not yet won a match in the group. That indeed happened with 3-0 and the set positions 20-25, 20-25 and 18-25 without any problems.
Lycurgus, however, had to stay alert. After all, in the past the Groningers had suffered nasty defeats in Sliedrecht. For example, last season the team was eliminated for the final matches for the Dutch title after losing to Sliedrecht Sport. And this season, Lycurgus suffered a 3-2 defeat in the cup tournament, although a place in the final was still secured through a 3-0 home win.
Lycurgus had been warned
Arjan Taaij’s team was therefore warned. However, Lycurgus, which has been running excellently in recent weeks, was superior against the South Hollanders from the start. Taaij had again preferred the Hoogevener Geoffrey van Gent in the diagonal position, who drove the Canadian Jacob Kern out of the base. Van Gent was immediately on the offensive in the first set and scored the necessary points.
But Sliedrecht suffered the most from the hard and precise services of Niels de Vries. He turned the game in favor of Lycurgus after an even start. De Vries started serving at 16-15 and when he stopped, the Groningen team led 16-21, thanks to a number of services aces. That blow was not recovered by the volatile home team. Lycurgus simply took the lead 20-25.
Jeffrey Klok closed the gaps excellently
Also in the second set there was no problem for the Groningers, who were now really warmed up. Lycurgus was in complete control of the game and had a lead from the start. The Americans Kyle McCauley, Ryan Coenen – including with beautiful pipe attacks – and middle man Luuk Hofhuis provided the points. They were put into position by playmaker Markus Held, while the excellent libero Jeffrey Klok closed the gaps and was important defensively.
After winning 20-25 in the second set, the third was just a formality. Sliedrecht Sport was quickly put at a considerable disadvantage, after which the match ended 18-25 in favor of Lycurgus.