Vasas defend Hungarian cup crown in dramatic fashion

As expected, the match between the defending champions Vasas Óbuda BUDAPEST and their rivals Swietelsky BÉKÉSCSABA scheduled for the final stage of the women’s national cup of Hungary ended in a fifth set, which was won by the team from Hungary’s capital city after a battle that lasted for more than two hours.

To the tune of Van Halen’s Jump, the players took to the court, which was darkened as usual, with smoke and coloured lights, so that you could even think you were sitting (or standing) at a concert. The atmosphere was further boosted by the Vasas fans, who drummed through the entire three-quarter of an hour warm-up, singing each player’s name to the beat. Among them Taylor Bannister, who could be one of the defending champions’ most dangerous weapons against their rivals from Békéscsaba.

And so it was, the American opposite scored the first point of the match, but the second was scored by their opponents’ big gun, Serbian Marta Drpa, who continued to pile up the points, already up to five halfway through the first set. The Budapest team made more mistakes in offense, Bannister did not find her form either, but team captain Ayshan Abdulazimova cut the six-point deficit to three, and soon after managed to equal the score (19-19). Although Drpa scored more points, Vasas equalised again with aggressive defensive work, but the set was eventually won by BÉKÉSCSABA.

The team of Gábor Tóth tried to take advantage of their psychological superiority - and the encouragement of their fans - but thanks to mistakes from the opponent, defending champions Vasas got away by three points. Slovakian outside hitter Karolína Fricová, who had been substituted in the first set, stayed on the court in the second half and played an important role in Vasas’ more than ten-point advantage.

For understandable reasons, the fans of the team from Angyalföld drummed even louder, but despite their bad start, the team from Békéscsaba managed to escape from their opponent by five points in the third set. After a timeout by Ioannis Athanasopoulos, Vasas caught up, but Ceyda Aktas again created a bigger gap. The Budapest side managed to come closer, but in the exciting final minutes, full of challenges, the Csaba side took the lead again and did not relinquish it.

Despite the disadvantage, the Vasas players were not discouraged, Abdulazimova asked for more encouragement from the red-and-blue fans, and thanks to her ace the defending champions went three up (8-5). The team from the capital maintained their lead with great blocks, and Bannister and Fricová even increased it. Csaba fought back, but Vasas won the fourth set.

Nobody in the hall could have predicted who was going to win the gold medal before the final act, especially as the teams took turns in scoring the first ten points. After Bannister’s point (8-6), the game seemed to have swung in favour of Vasas, but Békéscsaba scored the tenth point first. It meant nothing, as from then on, the two sides continued to collect points neck and neck. Both Bannister’s game-balls were saved by Csaba, but Fricová scored the third and Vasas Óbuda won the Hungarian Cup again.