Sweden
The start of the game was actually pretty encouraging for the home side as Sweden got surprised by the fighting spirit of the local “Lions” who combined smart block-outs with a very solid defense. Tim Laevaert and Frantisek Vosahlo were able to find their way through the Swedish block but the group around superstar Marcus Nilsson claimed a margin of two points while approaching the final rush thereby paving the way for the final 23-25.
Even though this was not the happy end they were looking for in the opening set, the home heroes of Luxembourg started out with a good pace in set 2 as well, going up by the slimmest margin at the first technical time-out. Great blocks eventually opened up this gap (16:13) for the home side before Sweden, and especially captain Nilsson – best scorer in the end with 17 points – stormed back to re-assert their supremacy changing their pace to finish it off at 20-25.
Luxembourg ran out of fuel in set 3 and even though the local side tried to resist by displaying some good actions in defense, still Sweden’s dominance was never to be questioned, thereby going for the final 0:3 waiting for the return match scheduled for next Sunday in Sollentuna.
