Gislaved Dropped the Third Set

Gislaved headed towards a win in set three against league-favorite Hylte/Halmstad.
Then came the fall.

In the end, it was a loss for Gislaved VK against gold-favorite Hylte / Halmstad 0-3 (20-25, 25-27, 21-25).

The journey continues down through the elitserien.

Either sweep opponents - or get swept themselves.

"Yes, it is all or nothing," says Magnusson, laughing lightly.

As the match opened, it seemed that Hylte/Halmstad would rule throughout, but late in the first frame GVK lifted up their standard and continued their momentum into the second set, taking Hylte/Halmstad to "extra points". In the end, it was the home team who drew the longest straw.

"Both teams showed a great effort and really dared to win. There were a couple of really cool and spectacular balls."

Gislaved returned from the 10-minute pause showing a completely new side. They went straight up to lead 4-0, but the set battled on. 5-1 to GVK, then H/H closed the gap 5-4. GVK up 16-10, H/H 16-15.

The final pressure from GVK came with, four straight points to increase the lead 20-15. But then came the return. In the last eleven points, Gislaved was outscored 1-10, and dropped the final set to Hylte/Halmstad 21-25.

"That's how it goes. You have to take control of your own points to get out of the rotation. It was a good serve of pressure [from Hylte/Halmstad] and little bit of nervousness on our side. They are mentally strong and have self-confidence that, unfortunately, we do not have right now after a few losses."

All in all, he is still quite pleased with the match.

"We make an okay match, although I would have liked to win. They're big favorites and we can challenge them early [in the season] so it's good. It was a decent measure of value."

"I think they took the win fairly. They are good, they have a routine and a little more calmness when the match is on the line. Many of their players have played in championship matches. Their experience is obvious."