Lentismen took an important step towards the European Championships, but made almost all of their mistakes in one set – passari-Ivanov: “I’ll take it in stride”

The Finnish men’s national volleyball team took an important step towards the European Championships when they beat Austria 3–1 (25–21, 23–25, 25–16, 25–17) in the qualifying match played in Tampere. The Finnish team showed their will to fight, but just like in their opening match against Latvia, Finland lost the second set due to their own mistakes.

– We have done a lot of work as a team in order to adopt a certain style of play. A style that suits us and develops our strengths. When we’re under pressure or the game isn’t going as planned, we tend to go back to our default settings, head coach Joel Banks stated.

The Finnish team is undergoing a generation change and most of the players are quite young. According to Banks, when faced with difficulties, players forget to play the game that has been practiced. Against Austria, this was not a disaster, as the team returned to their level in the third and fourth sets.

– We made most of our mistakes in one set and still fought 23-25 ​​in it, Banks said.

Passari Fedor Ivanov21, thinks that the team came into the game well prepared, but after that the grip loosened.

– I also lost a couple of stupid passes. I can take that second batch. Otherwise, the game rolled on and we got a clear win at home and three points. That’s the most important thing, Ivanov said.

– You just have to be able to concentrate for the whole game. We are a young group and at some point the grip will just loosen. When you keep the focus on the game all the time, that’s about it, isn’t it?

One of the successful players of the Finnish team was a libero Voitto Köykkäwho got into big boots after the Volleyball Association decided to shelve the number one libero Lauri Kerminen. Kerminen has not ruled out the possibility that he would play in Russia next season.

Köykkä got to play a few substitutes already a year ago in the European Championship, but now he got full responsibility.

– Yes, I like this role when I get responsibility. What’s up, it’s great to play in front of a home crowd that gives support, Köykkä said and admitted that he was a little nervous.

– In the first set, there was a little fuss, but then it relaxed.

Finland and Austria will meet each other next Sunday in Austria, and next week Finland will play against Latvia in Turku on Thursday. With two wins, Finland is at the top of the qualifying group, while the group winners and the five best group runners-up will qualify for next year’s European Championships.

According to Banks, Finland has gotten off to a perfect start to qualifying with its two wins, but he expects a real dogfight on Sunday.

– No one wants to finish the qualifiers without victories. They play at home in front of their home crowd, they are passionate and proud. We have to learn from this game, Banks said, but noted that he would first give the players a well-deserved day off.

– The team has been together day and night for the last three weeks. Boys need a day off for their own thoughts.