The Lions defeated the volleyball players of České Budějovice and tied the final series

The people from Prague, who lost in the final against Karlovy Vary last year, entered today’s match with a much higher effort than they showed in the opening match. “The approach was completely different. We were really aggressive from start to finish without a break. And that’s how the final must be played. We have to play every ball as if it were the last,” home coach Juan Manuel Barrial told ČTK. “We said something about it. That at home and certainly not in the final, we can’t wait to see what the opponent will do. That we have to go for it,” added Jakub Janouch, captain of the Prague team.

The Lions broke the first set on blocker Finnian McCarthy’s serve. First, with the help of his service and subsequent quality defense, they jumped to 12:8, and after holding the lead, they took a 22:15 lead with McCarthy’s next spin on the serve. They easily brought the set to a winning end.

However, they lost a small lead several times in the second set. After the successful services of the scorer Matias Giraud and the sweeper Martin Lick, the guests went to the end in a better position, leading 23:20. At 24:22, from their point of view, České Budějovice had two set points, but the all-rounder Stijn van Schie failed on both of them on the home block.

Thus began a dramatic tug-of-war. In the end, the South Czechs did not convert seven set balls, on the contrary, the Lions used the fourth chance with a triple block and after more than 38 minutes won this set in the 66th exchange.

It didn’t break Jihostroj, and the third set was a tug-of-war for every point. České Budějovice managed one set point in the end, but this time they did not succeed either. On the contrary, the Lions used the third match point to the delight of most fans in the sold-out hall. Slovakian smasher Tomáš Kriško hit the ball very high in the attack and knocked out the visiting three-block. Janouch was declared the most valuable player of the match.

The Lions scorer praised his team’s determination. “Although we lost in some passages in the second and third sets, we continued to go after it hard and we were not scared at all. Even if we did not succeed in something, we went full force into the next ball,” he said. The Lions mentally endured both tight ends. “We beat them in the first place by the head because it was a nerve-wracking game,” commented Janouch.

Jihostroj coach Vojtěch Zach perceived the end of the second set as a possible turning point of the match. “If the second set had gone differently, we could have talked differently, but it didn’t and that’s just how it should have been,” he said. He congratulated his opponents on their victory and good performance. “I’m glad that we held on for two sets and had chances. A good match, I think quite attractive for the spectators. And for the home team 3:0, that’s how it usually is in the playoffs. We have to prepare for the home game and at home again we have to put on an excellent performance,” he added.

The leveling of the series means that the finals of the volleyball extra league will definitely return to Prague. After the duel in České Budějovice, the next match will be played at Podvinné mlýn on Wednesday, May 3.