Tomorrow marks our first home game in over 2 weeks, since our last home game and our dominant serving performance, beating Sun Volley in 4, in front of a great home crowd. Tomorrow, also marks the return of 2010-2011 Loimu setter, Jose Carrasco.
Jose, never shy of making the "big play"
Jose, one of the only recent foreign setters for Loimu, had the tough task of replacing Simo-Pekka Olli last year. In the beginning, much frustration and misconception filled the air, with the lack of common language with the local Finnish players but Jose worked hard and with the help of Jimmy, picked up the basics which were needed to communicated and be successful throughout the year.
After November, Jose and Jani were able to lead us to an impressive 12-1 run, finding Loimu in first place in early February. Unfortunately, with illness and Ronald's injury, we dropped 3 of our last 4, dropping us into 5th place going into the playoffs and found ourselves against a tough Valepa team, who was able to eliminate us, ending our run.
Even with the language barrier, it was easy to see, either as a teammate or a fan in the stands that Jose played every game with great intensity and passion, always looking to make the big play. Whether it was a set across the court, going quick 3 meters off the net or hitting one of his trademark jump serves, he was always anxious to get the fans on their feet at Kertulla. With this said, tomorrow shouldn't be any different
Ignoring their place in the standings, Kokkola is a team composed of some of the best young talent in Finland, added one of the biggest position 6 in the league, in Bogomil Anachkov and the aggressive setting and serving of Jose and Kokkola will be a very tough test for us and the home fans. None less, a very exciting game to watch and I hope we can fill the stands in Kertulla, delivering another great dose of Loimu volleyball. Game starts at 17:00.
Lastly, I'm pretty excited to announce, that Loimu not only has a two game winning streak but their own pizza! Pizzaline, located a short drive away from the center of Raisio, has just realized the official "Loimu pizza". Consisting of chicken, pepperoni, kebob meat and jalepenos, which Garret, Duncan and myself created. A nice balance of protein and spiciness, a perfect Loimu treat.
Besides pizzas, they offer salads and pastas, some of our favorites being the salmon pasta (Garret) chicken salad (Duncan) and my personal favorite the chicken pasta. Anyways, the reason I bring this up is, their is a nice discount after every Loimu game, with the purchase of a Loimu game ticket, you receive the lunch price, which I hear was a very popular spot after our Sun Volley match. Almost too big of a surprise for the owner as he told me, even though there is plenty of room but no doubt another gathering spot to hopefully celebrate another Loimu win.
Another Friday night, another home game and hopefully another big win in front of the best fans in Finland, hope to see everyone there in their best black and orange.
Finally back in Raisio and it was a great feeling arriving late last night after completing the sweep against 2 great teams in Saimaa and Muurame and in the down time, had some fun with some of the younger players, who will undoubtedly will be the future of Finland volleyball but I will get to that later.
Having the luxury of leaving a day before game us a chance to get in late night, which we all quickly found our beds and were able to get a great night of sleep. Arriving at the hall before the match against Saimaa, you could just feel the energy about the newly acquired Jenkki, Matt Proper. The fans were quick to pack the hall, getting a seat before warmups, to see what their new foreigner had to offer and the buzz only intensified. With each warm up swing, there was "ooooos" and "ahhhhs" with Proper rising head and shoulders above the tape, the mystic had now become a reality and curiosity was becoming confidence with each swing of the Jenkki.
Confidence and our ability to extend the rally, lead us to taking the first two matches at the expense of the home team. Even though we came out focus and determined to close the match, Saimaa's young position 6 player, Eetu Pennanen gave them his team a spark and lead them with his aggressive swings and constant determination in the back row. Play after play, it became contagious with Proper becoming more of a weapon not only at the net but with his blistering serve, continually putting pressure on us as passers.
Saimaa fans had the feeling going into the 5th game, confident, energetic and loud, fueling their team to a comeback win. The momentum, swung back and forth, no one able to grasp it, even after going up 5-2 to start the game, Saimaa came roaring back much to the delight of their fans, taking the lead at 12-11. Dangling the one point lead, it became a sideout battle, with both of the setters, finding the right attacked at the right time, until Saimaa finally was able to find match point at 14-13. With the whole gym set a blaze with emotion and the feeling that they would go home with 2 points and a win, Duncan and Ossi took it upon themselves to take the team on their backs, siding out on 4 consecutive game points. Then, finally it was our turn, serving for match point, in a suddenly near silent hall. Having a feeling they would turn to Eetu, Ossi made the switch with Puputi to block the right side. The set was high and tight, which was no problem for the flying youngster but Ossi was able to match the jump, controlling the hit to area 6 and with the hard work came the reward, Puputti flying in giving Ossi a perfect set to the area 2 position where he was able to sneak it pass Eetu, sealing the match and sending our bench on the court to meet the rest of the team and Ossi, flying around the hall. It was a great match for us, with all the energy surrounding Proper's debut and especially with the level he played at, it felt great leaving the gym with a big road win.
Both Janis were instrumental to our success this weekend, leading with their energy
Next up, Muurame, a team that has improved greatly from last year, surging to the top of the league standings, one of the big reasons being their dominance at home, going undefeated, up until our Sunday match. With a much different look then last year, they were great at controlling the tempo, prolonging rallies, passing great and able to terminate the ball when they had to, jumping out and stealing the 1st game. Then it was our turn, after trading points, we were able to win a huge rally, mostly due to Henri making a huge save out of the net and putting up a perfect area 6 ball, leaving it for Garret to bury, silencing the crowd. From that hustle play from Henri, lead to another by Duncan, then a great run down my Garret, transferring all the momentum to our side, leading us to not only take the 2nd game but the 3rd heavily, winning 25-19. Confident and ready to close out the match, Muurame's middle Jaako went on a serving spree, one that would last leaving the score 10-2 in favor of the home team, through a couple of substitutes putting Tuomas in for Ossi and switching the Jani's we were able to make strides but it was too little too late, as the home team took the 4th set 25-15 with all the momentum on their side.
Refocused and able to regain our breath after such a lopsided 4th game, we faced yet Jaako's serve again to begin the match and we never looked back, siding out off his first serve. From there on our two middles, in Sammi and Henri, took it upon themselves to make sure, we would leave with 2 points and handing Muurame their first lost of the year. Sammi, newly brought up from Parma has played an important role for us but leading to the week he knew that he had to make sure he could contribute from the end line, with his float serve. Struggling and frustrated all week throughout practice, he worked and worked and worked with his serve, determined to find it, which he did serving 8 straight points in the 5th set, giving us a 10-2 advantage. It didn't come without help though, knowing Henri close now for almost 2 years, I know he thrives off pressure and prides himself on his ability to help the team when they need it most, stuffing a monstrous attack their middle Silva, which lead to an even bigger block to the left side of the court, only to find himself again against Silva, controlling it perfect to our area 6 digger, to yet another point. Muurame, eventually sided out but it was too little too late as we were able to finish the match with a lopsided 15-6, which wasn't indicative to the great volleyball that Muurame had played all night. Leaving the gym, yet again was a great feeling, we came together for the 2nd night when it mattered most, even though different individuals had more impact then others, we played hard and played for each other throughout both nights, seeing our hard and demanding practices turn into wins.
On the road, we had a lot of time of our own and knowing the casual fan, maybe even the closest fan to Loimu, might not have a sense of the trips, the players or what goes on within the team, I thought it would be a good idea to give a little sneak peak of Loimu volleyball, through the youngest players on the team Tuomas Koppanen and Markus Kaurto.
Both have had a great affect on our team, coming quick off the bench and playing to a high standard but more importantly challenging the gym everyday in practice. Both only 18, they still have a lot of time to grow to become great volleyball players, even though I think they will make an impact not only in the Finnish SM but the international arena, sooner then later. Hope you enjoy and see you all at Kertulla Saturday, for more great Loimu volleyball.
It's been a great week of volleyball, being back a Kertulla was amazing. Unfortunate, we were a little slow out of the gate letting Sun Volley slip by stealing game number one, with great ball control and poise. Letting our frustration get to us, we went down 3-0 in the second game. With some wise words from our captain, Henri Tuomi, we regained our confidence and took the court, stealing the second game with Jani Sippola's newly found death float serve, combined with one of the best individual defensive performance I have this year, out of any player.
Our comeback and 3 points wouldn't be possible without the huge night of both Ossi and Henri
Coming off the break is always hard, with so much time for a team to let down but this time Henri lead with his actions, going back to the end line and putting what seemed like endless pressure on their receivers, this was only contagious as Garret was able to influence the match as well with his serve. The real story though, was the dominating performance of Ossi Rumpunen. Finding his feet to the ball, he was an unstoppable force, not only in the area 4 position but more so out of area 6 where he can be so deadly, with his quick arm. Even on the sets, where he wasn't able to get a strong swing, he made it look easy, tipping for kills and swinging high off the block, something that he has been working so hard on in practice and it was great to see him rewarded with his effort with a much deserved 3 stars and player of the game. Overall, it was great Loimu volleyball, we fought for every point, constantly on the floor picking up the loose balls and swinging high and hard time after time, finishing Sun Volley off in the 4th set (19-25 25-15 25-15 25-14)
Fast forward to Monday, at Tampere for our 3rd TV match of the year. Even though, we had been great under the cameras thus far 2-0 this year for TV games, we knew it would take a inspiring effort to knock off arguably the best team in Finland right now. Continuing being the aggressor, we were able to take the 1st game handedly, 25-17 but Isku, composed and confident took their turn as enforcers at the end line. Topped up with a couple of inspired rallies, the home team being the beneficiaries, we found ourselves now down 2-1 in games 24-22 in the 4th set. Again, we were prepared and confident, even down in the face of a 4 game set back, we were able to dig in with a couple huge plays by Ossi and Henri to find ourselves heading to the 5th game. Battling for almost 2 hours by now, Isku had enough and was able to jump out to the first side switch and never looked back, winning the match 15-10. Disappointed and frustrated, we knew then and still now, that we are capable of great things this year and competing all the way to the 5th set with Isku and coming up short only fueled the fire for another great week of practice.
On to this week, when tomorrow we will travel to play Saimaa and Muurle. All week I have heard about another Jenkki, a Matthew Proper and I couldn't be more pleased to speak about him. Throughout my first year of college, traveling to play the east coast power house Penn State. All, I heard was about their opposite, who was measured touching 12 feet (3.66m) the golden touch, the height that every college player worked to achieve yet so few were able to obtain. Our first match went in 5 to another local team, where I was subbed in for the first time in my career (I was a freshmen at the time). The next day, I got my first start, against Penn State and Matt Proper and I wish I could have that game back. I played well but Proper stole the show, everything he was made out to be, a big strong blocking presence and when he was up against a 1 man block, he made sure the ball had no chance to be returned. Being the young libero, I was back to the bench the next match, giving way for the older libero, still to this day have a little chip on my shoulder because if Matt wasn't so dominate that day, I might have continued to start my freshmen year.
Too bad for me, its impossible to hold a grudge against Matt. 4 years later, we were both training with the USA National Team and I came away and still am a great fan of Matt not only as a volleyball player but just as a great guy. By now, everyone in the Saimaa organization knows as well as I do what a hard worker Matt is and more so, what a great and humble guy he is.
He will be a great addition to the SM league and I know he will only push Saimaa in the right direction, even though it will be great to see him again this Saturday, hopefully the saying goes as correct, 3 Jenkkis are better then 1.
If you haven't had the luxury of seeing him play yet and are a little curious heres a couple point from when he was in college 6 years ago in the title game against UCLA.
It's been almost 4 weeks, since our last home game in Kertullan and things have changed so much. Besides the obvious change (Winter wonderland that is now Raisio) Our team has taken very big steps, in our goal to finish the year as the last team standing and were slowly beginning to feel see and feel the hard work in action.
"Best so far" was what Henka, voiced about last night's practice and I couldn't agree more. With our early struggles and the coaching change, we have constantly been fighting within ourselves to find a change, improve and to get over the hump. With the focus brought into the gym recently by the players and coaches a like, we are starting the get the feeling of a great team. Making the little plays, making the smart plays and holding each other accountable we are becoming a exciting team, a team that our fans are accustomed too.
With our sweep over Sampo, our 5 game loss to Lakkapää and even our last match against VaLepa, there is a great feeling of trust and confidence that early in the year evaded us. With the results still not in the favor that Loimu and Loimu fans are used to, there is still much work left un done in the gym and with each other as we work with our sports psychologist. But we are hungry to climb back into the rankings and even more so to put on the orange jerseys and compete to our best ability come tomorrow at Kertullan in front of our home fans against a great Sun Volley team.
Loud and passionate, the best fans in Finland.
I know, personally I can't wait and I hope the feeling is shared throughout our fans, tomorrow will be another great night of volleyball and it will only get better.
Also, special thanks to all the great fans that made it to VaLepa last week, I've been fortunate to play for the best fans in Finland for 2 years now. I've never played with such a great following, even on our away matches, we able to have the loudest fans, it's consistently a great honor to put on the Loimu jersey and compete for such great fans. See you tomorrow.
