Finland lost to Switzerland in set 2-3 volleyball in their opening match of the women’s EC qualifiers on Sunday. Next up is tough Germany.
Riku Porvari,
Manu Myllyaho
The Finnish women’s national volleyball team will play their second match of the EC qualifiers away from home against Germany on Thursday, August 29. Match live on TV2 and Areena from 18:55.
Finland lost to Switzerland in the opening match of the EC qualifiers on Sunday. Switzerland took a two-point victory when they defeated Finland 3–2.
In the match, Finland was clearly stronger in the sets it won, but the tight sets turned in Switzerland’s favor. The visitors’ victory was guaranteed by a top chipper Maja Storck.
Storck recorded 33 offensive points, and he also brought Switzerland three points with his saves. It was known in advance that the chipper is the opponent’s most dangerous player.
– We knew that Switzerland is an excellent team, and that they have a world-class chipper. Despite all the preparation, he showed his level and how strong he is, says Finland’s head coach Nicholas Buser.
– We tried to stop his attack, but he unequivocally beat us. We gave Storck a little too much space, which he used effectively, says Buser.
The set scores of the match were recorded for Finland 25–18, 26–28, 23–25, 25–17, 12–15.
Strong passes in Finland
Sports expert Riikka Lehtonen states that Storck made an ugly mark against Finland. According to Lehtonen, Finland played strongly, but could not maintain the same level throughout the match.
– Playing with a strong pass was a tactic, but maybe it was only successful in the sets that Finland won, says Lehtonen.
Finland hit 12 aces in the match against Switzerland’s three. Half of Finland’s aces cleared Jessica Kosonen. His first set serves in particular were irresistible.
– After all, Kosonen’s jump pass was already good before going abroad, but it seems as if he gained more confidence in it during the last season.
Last season, Kosonen played in the French premier league for Terville Florange OC. In the summer, he moved to the country’s biggest club, Mulhouse Alsace.
By what means to bring down Germany?
Next, Finland will face Germany on Thursday, August 29. Finland, ranked 27th in the European ranking, challenges the big country ranked sixth in the same list.
Expert Lehtonen states that Germany is a clear early favorite because the level difference between the teams is so great.
At the same time, he predicts that a successful passing game and risk-taking will give Finland the opportunity to challenge the top country.
Head coach Nikolas Buser also believes in his team’s possibilities.
– At the weekend, in other matches, the underdogs grabbed points. I believe that the teams will continue to take points from each other. We can definitely still be the best in the group or even win the group, who knows?
– Germany is a very tough opponent, but if we play really well, as we sometimes do, we can succeed. The match is not won on paper, so we go to Germany to win, Buser says.
In the EC qualifying matches at the weekend, for example, Latvia surprised Montenegro 3–2. Hungary also had to settle for two points when they beat Denmark in five sets.
Before the game against Finland, Germany will face Switzerland away from home. After the Germany-Finland match, the European Championship qualifiers will take a long break, because the next time Finland will play is in August next year.
The Finnish women’s national volleyball team will play their second match of the EC qualifiers away from home against Germany on Thursday, August 29. Match live on TV2 and Areena from 18:55.