Breaking through the roof in Denekamp

In preparation of our next match, we were invited over at Nicolai's place for dinner. Since the living room required 7 couches, there was no room left to eat and the dining tables were placed over the length of the hallway. On both sides of the table was just enough room to fit our enormous chests, which quickly lead to teammates pushing their coworkers against the wall. After a quick inquiry amongst the roommates we figured that none of them actually considered it as weird. 

For our second match, we were invited to inspect the hall at Mare Volley in Noord-Deurningen (Denekamp). Previous years many teams have played in this hall while still under construction, on some points even missing a wall. This lead to near-freezing temperatures within the hall which is a clear violation of the ARBO-regulations. At the time of our visit, this maintenance was fulfilled and at first we were quite satisfied. A pleasant temperature, a proper flooring with sufficient damping and grip while allowing for clean slides. But, the hall also had its limitations. The court was not properly situated in the middle of the tiny hall. With barely any room at the sides and at the back of the guest-court, there was an abundance of room at the back of the home-court. This division in sides we quickly learnt during the match and is very well reflected in the overall scores. Most present of all, the hall was confined with a roof lower than a 12 ft ladder. 

The first set we had quite some trouble getting the serves of Mare under control. Their tactics? Take a maximum run-up and launch the ball using their full momentum and weight to the back of our field. With some height limitations, this led to quite some lost points in the first set but we were quite proud in keeping the score close. Then the tables hall turned. While we did not make maximal use of the increased backcourt, the Deneboys lost their advantage and the score was quickly set in stone.

With the third and fourth set repeating the above ritual, we learned about a black hole constructed in the back of the court. This hall, also used for performances, had an elevated stage that was not closed at all sides and various ball that were ketsed disappeared in the void below to never be seen again. A design flaw that we would never have let happen.

With a clear advantage on one side, the score unsurprisingly ended as 2-2. Then the question of the day was; do we prefer to start, or end on the higher ground? Here, the opponents chose to end the set at the side they built their entire tactic on. We had a clear goal, directly walk over them like a freshly paid pavement and hold the difference for the rest of the match. We switched sides with a difference of a few points and then showed what we have already shown in the first and third set. We can keep up with them, and kept the difference until the victory.

They had a preferred side that they chose

In a hall that was also used for shows

The roof was low

We made them a vow

That next time we wont let them get this close