This weekend – on March 23-24 – the final four tournament of the “Meister kodo” Lithuanian men’s volleyball championship will be held in the hall of the Gargždai sports center. “Amber Volley” from Gargžda, “Elga-Grafaitė-SC Dubysa” from Šiauliai, “Sūduva” from Marijampolė and Vilnius University will compete for the medals of the national championships.
Saturday at 1 p.m. in the starting first semi-final, defending champions “Elga-Grafaitė-SC Dubysa” and “Sūduva” will meet.
This fight will be really intriguing, because this season the confrontations between each other have been unpredictable and tense. In the semi-finals of the LTF Big Cup tournament, Šiauliai won 3-2 after a five-set battle. In the regular season of the “Master Code” Lithuanian championship, the people of Šiauliai beat their rivals from Marijampolė 3-0 at home, but in the second round, Sūduva achieved a revenge 3-1.
“The whole team understands that these are decisive battles, so we are all preparing and trying to be in the best shape. The team is full. First of all, we are focusing on the semi-final with Marijampole, because it is a capable team and it was the only team we lost to in the championship. So all attention is first on Saturday’s match, and then on Sunday’s,” said Modest Strockis, coach of “Elgos-Grafaitės-SC Dubysos”.
The coach of “Sūduva”, R. Sujeta, does not hide that serious tests await his students at the weekend.
“The weekend will be extraordinary because it is decisive. We all understand that there is nothing to save anymore. This year, the amalgamation of A and B sub-groups has left some of the more capable players lacking motivation and some of the younger players more willing to try and improve. I think that in terms of preparation and attitude, the level of the teams has become similar, although the capacities are slightly different. I think that it will be a tough match for us in Gargždai. We will see how it goes. The most important thing is that we are all healthy. It seems that we will be able to collect the optimal composition, and the advantage in Gargždai will be those who will be in a better mood, play sharper and create more problems for the opponents”, said R. Sujeta.
4 p.m. the second semi-final between Amber Volley and VU teams will begin.
The Gargžda club will be considered the favorite not only of this pair, but also of the entire final four. The team, which wants to return the title to Gargždus after a year’s break, competed in the Baltic League this year and has accumulated much more experience in high-level matches.
“We are trying to keep the same rhythm after the Baltic League, concentrating on the same things we did before. I think the result in the finals will depend on the quality of our serving and how we exploit the weaknesses of our opponents. Home field advantage will give us extra energy and responsibility. We hope that we will make good use of it,” said Amber Volley coach Austris Stals.
VU’s young netballers shouldn’t feel pressured, and some experienced players in the lineup can help the youngsters challenge the favorites. The Vilnius team played with the Gargžda team for the only time this season – they lost 0-3 to their opponents in the semi-finals of the LTF Big Cup.
“I think the whole team is in a fighting mood. Of course, we have a lot of players for whom this will be their first Final Four overall, so there will be a lot of excitement. But if we manage to keep a cool head, we will be able to show the result. We hope to finish the season with a medal”, said one of VU’s leaders, Artūras Vasilijevs.
The medals will be distributed by the teams on Sunday. The third place match will start at 12pm and the grand final at 3pm.
Press release
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– 2024-03-28 15:31:44
