GVK Run Over in 2nd SM-Quarterfinal

34 balls in three sets was all Gislaved VK earned against Engelholm.
"We are not as bad as we played," says GVK's coach Dick Runesson.

Runesson talks to his team during a timeout in the 2nd Quarterfinal

Everything to gain and nothing to lose. So was the motto Gislaved VK brought with them for the second quarterfinal against top team Engelholm.

When the match started on Thursday evening, it seemed like that GVK had chosen to lose.

Engelholm took hold of the game from the first minute and 45-minutes later, the match ended 3-0 in favor of the visiting team (25-12, 25-15, 25-7).

"How bad played is not how we are and that bothers me, said a dejected GVK-coach, Dick Runesson.

He continues: "Engelholm is the obvious favorite [to win], and we should just go out and have fun and play relaxed. Instead, it's like we put pressure on ourselves and I can not really understand that."

We can only agree with coach Runesson. The home side looked very tense and overwhelmed with the magnitude of the match. Visiting Engelholm took full advantage of their stress, and in both the first and second set EVS cruised to an easy lead after six balls in play.

"We were not [here] at all," sighs Dick. "We must forget this soon and try to reload and get back to a positive attitude. On Sunday we will go down and have fun on the court. That's the motto."

EVS has a familiar Gislaved-face in middle blocker Linn Englund. Linn was victorious in Thursday's match and smiled after the easy victory against former teammates: "This felt good and we had a clear focus on this match from the beginning," says Linn. "We had a really good balance in the team throughout the season and tonight it felt like we took another step."

It was, in other words, no chance for Gislaved to trip up Engelholm in the hunt for the SM-gold.

"No. We have scouted GVK a lot this time and tonight we did a really good game and can be satisfied," says Linn.

And the goal for Engelholm's season is of course to bring home the SM-gold:

"Absolutely. That's what we've worked for all season."