On Saturday, December 13, in Riga, the winners of the CEWOOD Latvian Cup were the volleyball players of “Ezerzeme”/Daugavpils University (“Ezerzeme”/DU), who beat the “Robežsardze”/RSU team 3:2 (26:28, 21:25, 29:27, 34:32, 15:10) in the final match.
“Ezerzeme”/DU started the final game with David Žolnerović, Konstantina Marchenko, Kārli Ābelīti, Sandi Vilcān, Matīsa Šalkovski, Erika Voronko, as well as libero Sergej Nikolaev.
On the other hand, “Robežsardze”/RSU, which played at its home ground, started with Dāvis Storkis, Aleksejs Formanickis, Edvīns Skrūders, Toms Kalniņš, Jānis Teikmanis, Renārs Vinšteins and libero Kaspars Kronbergs.
In the first set, after Vilcans’ attack and Marchenko’s “eisa”, Daugavpils took the lead 2:0, but Rigans quickly equalized. In the course of the game, the initiative changed several times, and although “Ezerzeme”/DU was able to play back three set points, the home team won the first set with 28:26.
In the second set, the game was evenly matched until the score was 11:11, but after Teikmanis’ attack, “Robežsardze”/RSU gained an advantage, which they kept until the end of the set – 25:21.
In the third set, “Ezerzeme”/DU took the initiative, taking the lead with 10:6 after Šalkovski’s attack. Although the people of Riga were able to respond with a series of points and take the lead, the Daugavpils were more accurate in the decisive moments – the set ended with 29:27 after Ábeliš’ attack in the second touch.
In the fourth set, “Robežsardze”/RSU gained the upper hand several times, but “Ezerzeme”/DU was able to return to the game with a stable action in defense and in the block. In a tense ending, the people of Riga did not use eight match points, but the people of Daugavpils ended the set with 34:32, equalizing the game.
In the decisive fifth set, the battle went point by point until the score was 5:5, after which “Ezerzeme”/DU took the initiative and won both the set and the entire final game with 15:10.
Among the winners, Sandis Vilcāns scored 25 points, Matīs Šalkovskis — 17, Eriks Voronko — 16, Konstantin Marchenko — 13, and Ilya Makarovs — 10 points.
Jānis Teikmanis (28 points), Dāvis Storķis (23) and Toms Kalniņš (18) were the top scorers in “Robežsardze”/RSU.
Kārlis Ābelītis (“Ezerzeme”/DU) and Kaspars Kronbergs (“Robežsardze”/RSU) were recognized as the best players in the final game.
After the game “Ezerzeme”/DU head coach Rihards PuĪtis emphasized the importance of stability in the decisive moments:
“I also said on TV that everything will be determined by the one who plays more stable. Riga players played more stable in the first two sets, we became more stable in the third and fourth sets, but in the fifth the one who starts better usually wins. The result shows the level of the game – five sets and a high intensity of the fight.”
On the other hand, Sandis Vilcāns emphasized the importance of experience:
“Experienced players took the initiative in the important moments. We had Eric and Sergej, and that helped us win. There were a lot of break-even moments, especially in the third and fourth sets.”
The won CEWOOD Latvian Cup is the first in the history of “Ezerzeme”/Daugavpils University club, marking an important event in the development of Daugavpils men’s volleyball.
We congratulate the “Ezerzeme”/Daugavpils University team for winning the Latvian Cup – players, head coach Rihardas PuĪtis and the entire coaching staff. Thanks also to the fans for their support throughout the cup.
The information was prepared
Daugavpils state city municipalities
Department of Public Relations
