Leomuovi Akaa Volley – AC Oulu Volley 1-3 (25-23, 23-25, 16-25, 17-25)

The die had put the two Finnish teams Leomuovi Akaa Volley and AC Oulu Volley in opposite sides of the net in the first round of Challenge Cup. The first match was played in Akaa Areena in front of some 460 spectators. The home team of Akaa has quite a challenge in the second match next week in Oulu (the Cultural Capital of EU 2026) if it wants to continue in the second round of the Cup.

In the first set, the home team seemed to be dominating the court. But when the score was 12-6 AC Oulu Volley started its spurt. The rest of the set was exiting when the visiting team climed up point by point. Finally, Leomuovi Akaa Volley’s middleblocker Aaro Paananen took two aces in a row and the home team won by 25-23. The most efficient player was the captain of Akaa Niklas Seppänen with the figures 6/+5. AC Oulu Volley’s opposite Jack Williams made 7/+3.

The second set was equal straight from the beginning. This one ended by 23-25 for AC Oulu Volley. This time Jan Helenius of Oulu (8/+7) was the ‘chief’ on the court. Seppänen continued firmly by 6/+6.

In the third set Leomuovi Akaa Volley was unsuccessful in almost each ball. When AC Oulu Volley succeeded in everything there was no chance for the home team. The biggest cap in the points was in the situation 5-18! The final points were 16-25. The statistics for Leomuovi Akaa Volley was 10/-2 while the same for AC Oulu was 22/+14.

The fourth set started like the previous one. The screen showed 7-17until Leomuovi Akaa-Volley managed to get its engine in full energy. Naturally, that was too late. The final score was 17-25.

The MVP of the match was Jan Helenius by 17/+13.

-            Just now, I don’t know what happened in the beginnings of the third and fourth sets. Anyhow, when you give 8 to 9 points lead to your opposite, it is almost impossible to win anymore, said Leomuovi Akaa Volley’s captain Seppänen after the match.

The teams will meet again next week in Oulu.