“Miesten 2-sarjassa nähtiin sunnuntaina 15.10.2023 Liperissä LiVo-Ploki klo 18.00. Matkan kulku: Tsempit N2-joukkueelle omaan peliinsä klo 12, nokka kohti Siilinjärveä 12.15, stoppi ja ‘oikoreittiä’ Karjalan lennoston läpi. Olimme noin kello 16 Liperissä. Peli ohi klo 20, ruoka napaan ja n. 300 km kotimatkalle.” Näin aloittaa joukkueen jäsen Ilkka Parviainen raportin miesten sunnuntaisesta vieraspelistä. Lue miten itse peli päättyi:
Men’s 2-series saw LiVo-Ploki on Sunday 15.10.2023 in Liperi at 18.00. Route: Cheers to the N2 team for their own game at 12.00, nose towards Siilinjärvi at 12.15, stop and “shortcut” through Karelian airfield. We were in Liperi at about 16:00. Game over at 20 pm, food in the belly and about 300 km home.
We started the trip with an understaffed team, but we didn’t let that bother us, except that it did, and badly. We missed the Kyyjärvi league warriors, the Pielavesi wonder, the team’s two liberos, the hard-handed Matias Viikilä and the captain himself, Jussi-Akseli Körkkö.
Game 1-3 to LiVo, who were mainly made up of tough and reachable junior players. Among them was Niklas Björlin, winner of the LiVo player of the day award, who sowed terror in the opening warm-up by swinging the antenna tip. Add to that a near-perfect reception and a sledgehammer from the roof of the box, and you’ve practically got yourself a match.
The game was very sluggish from Ploki from the start and the balls were dropping down the court with the men staring at each other like first love. The whole week of serve-receive training was clearly reflected in the game, with 30 passing errors in last week’s game and only 28 today (not exact figures).
Plokis’ best player of the day, Antti Rasi, as the team’s second captain, did a good job warming up the team and preparing for the game. Antti played some very decent volleyball throughout the game.
Also worth mentioning is the only libero of the day, Miko Siekkinen, who despite an ankle injury played well… even… played the game from start to finish. Jokes aside, lets say the facts. Miko took good control in reception and defense. He also got the team into the fight as the opponent increased their lead.
Sets: 18-25, 13-25, 26-24, 21-25 (Ploki-LiVo)
Text by Ilkka Parviainen