Knallecupen för RIG-tjejerna

RIG-DA Saturday:

The A team faced tough pool play with Hylte/Halmstads womens Elite team part of the group. However the first team they played was Koll, a team from Denmark. It being the first match played together as a team, it was a little slow to get started and chaotic at times. Koll was more awake and ready for the challenge, the A team was not able to meet them with the same enthusiasm or punch. Unfortunately RIG fell in the first match of the day. Final score was 21-25, 23-25.

In the second match RIG met their toughest competition of the day, Hylte/Halmstad. The first set of the match was as expected when meeting a top Elite team. Some nervous, timid play from the team held us back and we fell to HH with 13-25. The second set was a lot more lively where RIG fought hard to keep ahead. With a lot of team effort and a push to be better than the set before, HH had trouble keeping us at bay. RIG was able to cap off the set with an exciting win and to took them to a third set. Final score was 26-24. The last set was just as exciting as the second and you could see HH was struggling to keep their distance. Unfortunately HH's experience was too much for RIG at the moment. However it was encouraging to see the team could keep up with a top team in the Eliteseries. Final score was 12-15. 

The final match of the day was against Gentofte, another team from Denmark. It being the last match of a long day, the energy of the team was low and unstable. RIG let Gentofte dictate the match too much at times and weren't able to get some momentum under their feet. The first set was a battle but RIG came out on top with a final score of 26-24. The second set seemed to pull the energy of the team even lower and the final score went to Gentoftes favor with 20-25. The final set was a lot better but still the energy was not where it should have been. However, RIG pulled it off by turning up the intensity a bit for the win! Final score was 15-11.

RIG DA Sunday: 

The A team came to the gym with new energy, energy they needed to get through the day and win! The first team they faced was a well known team from Denmark, Brondby. RIG started slow again, making small mistakes here and there which led to a battle towards the end. The set was tight with an end score of 25-23. After we knew our strength and how much better we were capable of playing against a team like Brondby, the second set went quickly. Final score was 25-15.

Second match of the day was against VK Vestsjälland a team from Denmark. Again the first set was a learning experience for the A team to figure out how the other team played. The result was a tight game with the score being 27-25. The second set was much quicker after realizing the other teams faults and exposing them. Final score was 25-10.

The last match played was for 5th place in the Elite division. The team to beat was Ikast from Denmark. They are also a well known team. The first set went quickly with the A team finding their stride early. Final score was 25-15. The second set was a battle which neither wanted to let go of. With some loud cheering from the RIG boys to encourage them along, RIG came out on top. Final score was 26-24.

RIG C:

There were good feelings with the C team last weekend. The team had a good attitude on the court during the tournament, with some ups and downs but always coming back and fighting until the end of the rallies. 

The team was strong in attack and block, we had some trouble to make a good block with quick sets to position 4. It´s something they need to work on. The main problem was reception, something we already knew before the tournament but a good reminder for the future.

As normal in the Pre-Season, all players have more or less the same playing time on the court. We tried different formations and different players in all positions, which all of them gave great effort giving and did their best in all situations. 

Finally, we finished in 3rd place in Dvision 1. Which is good for keeping the energy for the players. For the players, it is good to see a reward after hard training during the weekes prior. 

The most important part of the weekend was to know where we are and from where we have to start to work hard, to make a strong team, with a strong personality.

RIG B:

Vi påbörjar årets knallecup med att möta ett Estländskt lag. Det estländska lag som mot slutet av söndagen visar sig bli vinnare av DIV 1. De estländksa tjejerna visade direkt att dom va något att räkna med genom ett stabilt spel i alla moment. Våra tjejer kämpar emot bra men vi har lite för många dalar som gör att vi hamnar efter poängmässigt. Detta resulterar i att vi förlorar vår första och enda match för dagen.

I andra matchen möter vi danska Ikast. Ett ungt lag som får det tungt tidigt i matchen på grund av vårt servetryck och starka anfallsspel. Vårt spel funkar precis så som vi vill och vinner 25-10 i första set. I andra set slappnar vi av lite för mycket stundtals och låter Ikast komma tillbaka in i matchen under vissa perioder. Vi lyckas dock komma tillbaka upp i nivå och vinner 25-19.

Tredje och sista matchen spelas mot Jönköping. Vi har under dagen spelat runt samtliga spelare på olika positioner och det fortsätter vi med under även denna matchen. Vissa av våra spelare får prova lite annorlunda positioner och genomför det med bravur. Första set är jämnt där Jönköping spelar stabilt och utmanar oss ordentligt stundtals. Vi är starkast i slutet av setet och vinner med god marginal. I andra set får vi en flygande start med stabilt mottag, starkt anfall och väldigt bra servetryck. Vi drar tidigt ifrån poängmässigt och vinner dagens sista match med 2-0 (25-21, 25-12).