SVG LÜNEBURG reign supreme in re-match with Lycurgus GRONINGEN

Lycurgus GRONINGEN of the Netherlands did not stand any chance against SVG LÜNEBURG of Germany as the home side stormed to a comprehensive 3-0 victory to book their place in the Playoff round of the men’s CEV Volleyball Cup 2023.

The ‘LüneHünen’ started very focused, and Colton Cowell was performing just fine right from the early stages of the match, scoring the first three attacking points for the hosts (4-1). With pressure-filled play and the first block, the home side quickly pulled away to 8-4. The first Dutch timeout brought SVG briefly out of their rhythm (9-7), which they nevertheless found back soon afterwards (13-8). In addition to good reception, an excellent Lukas Maase was the main reason for the many points scored by the home side at this stage. Only Jacob Kern and Ryan Coenen on the Lycurgus side found gaps in the German half of the court. Therefore, for a short time it looked like the set could still tip over despite a 17-13 lead of SVG reduced to nil at 17-17, but with two successful blocks, the hosts broke away again (23-19) before closing the set by cashing their third set ball (25-22).

As Jordan Ewert had problems again and again to assert himself at the net against the Dutch block, it was for Maase (12 points in the end) the time to play a leading role for the team under coach Stefan Hübner. He usually is the one who scores the points when the opponent is getting too comfortable with Ewert. This was also the case against Lycurgus. With a few mistakes of their own, the ‘LüneHünen’ widened their advantage (11-5, 13-7). Cowell and Ewert scored more and more frequently (20-11, 23-15) and after another Dutch service error, SVG took a 2-0 lead (25-17).

Probably feeling a bit too confident in their advantage, Stefan Hübner’s men started the third set trailing 1-5. “We wanted to do better than we did in the first leg, where we gave the game away even after taking a 2-0 lead,” Hübner summed up afterwards and explained why he asked for a timeout right away. He did so with much success, because especially Ewert found back to his top game. More through the middle, the team flipped the charts again, reception and attack did fit together, and the ‘LüneHünen’ were soon back on track (5-7, 11-9). From the bench to the stands hosting some 1,150 spectators, the tension could be felt in this phase, which resulted in an energetic Hübner fist when Maase had once again smashed the ball down the floor.  

Perhaps it was due to the demanding past few weeks that SVG repeatedly let the reins slip during this phase and brought Lycurgus back into the game. Stefan Hübner defended his side: “Today was certainly a bit cramped and not always high class. But it has also been an incredibly exhausting couple of weeks.” The bottom line, however, was that the guests could not find a way to threaten the home favourites. The game went towards crunch time (14-14; 18-18) where Ewert turned it up again (23-19). Quite naturally, it was up to Lukas Maase to take the match point for an unchallenged 3-0 victory (25-20) and the right to play Italy’s standout Valsa Group MODENA in the next round.