Volleyball players Orion win cup final, Limax misses out on first major prize

NOS Sports•today, 2:19 PM

Volleyball players Orion win the cup final, Limax is defeated in three sets

The volleyball players of Active Living Orion have won the national cup for the first time since 2017. In the Maaspoort in Den Bosch, the team from Doetinchem defeated Numidia Limax from Maasbracht in three sets (25-19, 25-20, 25-18). For Limax it was the chance to win the first major prize in club history.

The women’s cup final starts at 4 p.m. Then Zwolle and Apollo 8 play against each other. That match will also be played in Den Bosch.

Orion and Limax have already played against each other four times this season. Orion won three of those duels. The previous matches were characterized by tension, as several five-setters were played. But there was no blood-curdling match on Monday.

Limax coach Guido Görtzen calls the defeat “painful”. He was especially dissatisfied with his team’s third set. He also saw that his team was not in the match, “For example, you see with the serve that there is no confidence. Then it becomes very easy for a team like Orion.”

Fellow coach Dirk Sparadans from Orion thought Limax had started well. “But we remained calm about it. Those guys did a fantastic job.” He is particularly pleased with the fact that his team kept to the agreements in the well-filled Maaspoort. “And that is not normal under these circumstances.”

In the first set the lead was tight. Limax attacker Leon Meier in particular impressed with some hard and striking blows.

Yet it was Orion that made the difference in the decisive phase of the set. The passing on Limax’s side left something to be desired and at Orion they fought for every point. Captain Samuli Kaislasalo even dived over the boards to keep a ball in play. After trailing 15-16, the team from Doetinchem pulled ahead and eventually won the set quite easily 25-19.

In set two, Orion continued that trend and quickly took a two-point lead. Limax coach Görtzen intervened and brought in playmaker and international Sil Meijs (whose brother Alex was on the field for Orion).

Meijs managed to find former international Rob Bontje and the center forward scored a few points, but it was not enough to completely close the gap. In fact, the gap only widened again.

Ultimately, Orion managed to win the second set 25-20. Although Limax scored one point more than in the first set, the second was a lot less exciting.

Orion was also the strongest team in the third set. It was not that Limax showed nothing, but when the Limburgers seemed to be coming back, Orion made a point.

Nevertheless, Limax continued to fight until the end of the match. However, Orion was simply too strong, partly thanks to the well-playing Kaislasalo and Tom Koops.

With a trio of match points, Liam McClusky, who had been injured for a long time and was brought in especially for the last point, successfully served for the victory (25-18).

“That last serve was three/four months of work. No one is going to take that away from me,” says the Belgian, who also thanks his physiotherapists in front of the camera.