Gislaved starts with crystal-clear win

Coach Daniel Magnusson could not get a better start to the season when the women's elite series premiere, led to victory by 3-0 for Gislaved.

GVK celebrates a 3-0 win in the series premier at Sollentuna

Facing a premier, of course, there is always a certain amount of nerves present, so it is naturally very exciting to follow the outcome of the matches. This weekend's perhaps most unexpected result was Gislaved, when they won big over Sollentuna. Sollentuna did an okay season last season, kept most of the squad intact for this year and returns long-term injured Madelene Green (11 points), who absolutely has the capacity to replace a foreign professional on the squad. Gislaved, on the other hand, continued with their long-term goals and has already this season begun to see results.

Two quick and then one evenly-matched set

The clash between the two teams, however, was strangely one-sided. Gislaved made a relatively simple affair of this match, with Ester de Vries (19 points) as the clear and sunny leader of a team that also included three Elite League debutants in Emma Tegnhammar, Emina Bosno and Sofie Bäck. Sollentuna did not have much of chance against Gislaved's huge service pressure, which despite GVK's 14 serving errors, made it difficult for the home team to produce points. Gislaved also did a good job of converting defense into an attack. Only in the third set did Sollentuna get some control on their game, but it was not enough to turn the match, instead handing Gislaved a well-deserved confidence boost - which may be required in future.

The next match against defending champions

This means that Gislaved takes a natural first step towards an early lead in the series. How long they remain in the top is yet to be seen. Next for them is their debut in the Öresunds-League, which is expected to be able to further develop the team. They continue on Sunday with the match that will quickly separate the cream of the crop in the series leaders, against Engelholm. EVS is the reigning Swedish champion and still a league-favorite, their clear defeat against very strong Hylte / Halmstad notwithstanding.