The last match of the Semi-final Tournament, against CSS2 Baia-Mare, mirrored our whole run in Sibiu: a constant battle with our own emotions and proof that we are so close to top performance. We lost 0-3 (15-25, 21-25, 24-26), a score that doesn’t fully reflect the intensity on court, especially at the end of the match.
A late but brave comeback
After the mental shock of the match against the hosts, our girls came on court with a dose of disorientation that showed in the first set. But the Volleyball Forever spirit started to reappear as the minutes went by. In the third set we saw a real release: we fought point for point, saved impossible balls and pushed the set into extra points, losing only narrowly, 24-26.
We are left with the huge regret that just a little more focus and calmer handling of the set endings would have taken us today into Romania’s top 12 teams.
The only team that “shook” Sibiu
Looking back, one statistic says everything about our potential: ACS Champions Sibiu, the team that dominated the tournament, lost only one set in all three days. That set was lost to us. That “super-quality” set win remains proof that our technical level is top class, even if our mental stability is still under construction. Congratulations to the hosts on the organisation and thank you for the experience!
Final conclusions: only 9 months together
We must not forget for a second: we are a team formed only 9 months ago. While our opponents have played in the same line-ups for years, we managed in record time to compete on equal terms with the elite. Missing out on qualification hurts, but the jump in quality is undeniable. We need matches, experience and that “intelligence of the moment” that only time can build.
