Finnish passenger Kaisa Alanko led his Levallois Paris Saint-Cloud team to the French Volleyball League championship over the weekend. In the finals, the team beat the perennially successful Nantes directly in two matches.
The first match ended 3–0 for the Parisians (25–22, 25–23, 25–19) and the second, decisive match on the away field 3–1 (19–25, 26–24, 25–17, 26–24). The team thus lost only one set in the finals.
– The whole season up to this point was amazing. The championship was just icing on the cake. I am really proud of our team, Alanko told Urheilu.
The experienced passer was awarded the MVP award for the best player after the second final. Alanko humbly states that any Levallois Paris player could have received the award.
He sees that last season left the team hungry to succeed this season. A year ago, the team was eliminated in the playoffs in the first round. There were no major changes to the lineup for the season that just ended, so the motivation for success was high.
– We believed and never gave up, Alanko enthuses.
The French championship is Alango’s first and also, at least for now, his last. Next season, she will move to the women’s professional series starting in the United States, which will start in January 2025.
Alanko previously played in Nantes and won silver and bronze in the French league there. He says that the championship in the last French season is a great achievement.
A good final series
Alanko praises the final series as good. According to him, the opening match at home was a little easier for the team than the decisive final. The 31-year-old passer admits that the second game in Nantes started under the command of the home team. The opening set went to the home team in front of a loud home crowd.
– I believe that the final series ultimately resulted in us being more united and more of a team in times of difficulty. Nantes might not have faced so many difficulties during the season, Alanko estimated.
He specifies that Nantes was a tight and united bunch in good moments, but in more difficult moments, the silver team began to fall apart.
– We kept our spirits up the whole time, Alanko enthuses.
He makes the team’s atmosphere glow. This also propelled Alanko to top performances. He believed and trusted in how the team’s game developed as the season progressed.
– Somehow it just goes into its own bubble with them. Of course, you also need a little luck to win these games, Alanko reflects on the background of success.
He reveals that after the decisive final, the dynamics of the team had been reviewed.
– It was said on the bus that I will get the best out of me, as the coaching management gained a lot of trust and I also trust them, Alanko says.
The end of the regular season provided an important home advantage
Levallois Paris had a tough season, as the team played in the European CEV Cup in addition to the league. Alanko admits that the pace of two games a week from December to January was taxing on the players. He praises how well the team performed despite the load.
– In a couple of games, you noticed that the team was really on fire, Alanko puffs.
The champion team also progressed to the semi-finals in the CEV Cup, where the Italian club Chieri ’76 Volleyball, who went on to win the Cup, defeated the Parisians. As the spring progressed, the league matches were also very important in terms of the playoff positions.
Alanko says that the second place in the regular season and the home advantage in the semi-finals was a decisive factor in terms of the place in the final.
– The semifinals went to the third game and in the end the home advantage decided that match series for us, Alanko says directly.
His spring continues quickly with the national team. Finland has the Silver League and European Championship qualifiers ahead of it this summer. Alanko says that most of the players will leave to join the national teams already this week.
Alanko gets a rest after the summer before new challenges.
– Then little Huili and off to the Yankees, good-natured Alanko concludes.