As H4 was unwilling to end the season during the game against De Spuyt, the albatross were two short games away from that sweet, sweet place in the 3rd class. The men played against the men of KVA H3 and H4, but with two of our best players injured and our super setter Tim absent, the moral was a bit down.

The first match was against the H4 of KVA who were eager to promote as well. As the first whistle was heard the game started, and a bit lousy if I may add. The men of Albatros, as always, needed some time to warm up, but what else is new. The first set was inevitably lost to the guinea pigs. [16-25]

The loss of the first set however was a big motivator for the men of Albatros, as they struck back hard. With a few member changes the team found a new manner of playing. Numerous spikes and blocks were added to the mix and with great success. The first victory of the day was dragged in. [25-20]

Now with the victory under their belt, the albatross were eager to finish the set quickly, and so they did, ending the set with [15-9]

The second match however was thought to be a lot more difficult than the first one, but Albatros was proven wrong. It wasn’t KVA that was playing lousy, no, the opposite, H4 started playing out of their minds. The bigger the challenge, the better the performance is apparently the philosophy that H4 uses, as they ended the set strong. [20-25]

One more set – one more – and they’d be promoted to the 3rd class at last. More motivated than ever Albatros stepped onto the court again, more determined than ever to secure their victory. In the heat of the fight neither team was willing to give up, playing tactically, spiking hard, blocking well, that’s how H4 manage to end the set in their favour. [25-27]

Tears of joy ran down their faces as they finally achieved their goal. With the biggest smiles on their faces, the new 3rd class team came together, one last time, for the last team photo of the season, which of course was later celebrated with more than a few beers.