ZWETTL – The hosts of the tournament were convincing against the guests from Slovakia.
After yesterday’s win against HAOK Mladost Zagreb, the home team Union Raiffeisen Waldviertel was ready to battle the guests from Slovakia. After a rocket start the Slovak coach was forced to take the first timeout at 8:4. In the first set, the Nordmänner’s passing game was strong, which is why they could score primarily through swings by the middle blockers. But Spartak UJS Komorano was willing to put up a good fight.
In the Austrian team, the young Libero Fabian Scheikl got his very first chance to compete in the MEVZA tournament. In front of a cheering crowd Waldviertel ended the set after 24 minutes 25:21. The Nordmänner stayed consistent and managed to take the lead in the second set as well. In a similar manner the second set ended after 22 minutes 25:16 in favor for Union Raiffeisen Waldviertel.
The start of the third set was accompanied by a cheering crowd. The Slovak team was ready to give it their all and it worked, they managed to shorten the Nordmänner’s lead 6:7. The Slovak team was willing to win, the leading team changed every few points. The key for the Nordmänner’s dominance was again the block performance, the managed to win a tight third set 25:21.
“We are satisfied with our performance in front of our fans. Now we have to regenerate and focus on our next game on Saturday”, said Zdenek Smejkal coach of URW.
“The tournament was well organized and the crowd had a positive energy all three days. In this game all our young players competed, three of them are still under 20 years old. They lacked the experience which is why it was difficult to keep up with the opponent, but it was an important learning experience”, said Adam Szazvai player from Spartak UJS Komarno.
