t’s truly becoming a grand cru year for Belgian volleyball players abroad.

After Lise Van Hecke was crowned champion in Japan with her team, we also counted three Belgian men who clinched titles with their clubs: Sam Deroo in Russia, Tomas Rousseaux in Spain, and Simon Plaskie in Germany. This weekend, another compatriot joined that elite group.

In the Netherlands, Liam McCluskey managed—despite a rough season start and a serious injury—to win the title for the second consecutive year with Orion Stars from Doetinchem. The Belgian setter played a key role in securing this title, which came about in quite a remarkable way. Opponent Lycurgus, which had been declared bankrupt earlier in the week, was still allowed to compete—and did so with heart. While they lost the first two matches of the play-off finals, they came into the weekend determined to seize their last chance.

The score stood at 25-23, 21-25, 23-25, and 25-22 when the tiebreak began. That’s when the match turned into a true thriller. Orion missed its first match point, Lycurgus failed to convert two match points of their own, and thought they had won—only to see it overturned by a video challenge. That was the moment for standout player Tom Koopt to finish things at 22-24 in favor of Orion Stars, who had already won the Dutch Cup earlier this season. Another cherry on top for Orion Stars and for Liam McCluskey.

Meanwhile in Poland, after Zawiercie won the third final match 3-1 against Lublin, the underdog Lublin secured the national title this past weekend with a 3-0 win—clinching the third and decisive victory in the final. Warsaw finished third after three wins against Jastrzebski.

In France, Tours reached the playoff final after a thriller against Montpellier (3-2). In a sold-out sports hall in Poitiers, they immediately won the first final match 1-3, with Ryan Sclater (18 pts – 61%) as top scorer. The return leg will be played next week.

Also worth noting: Pablo Kukartsev, former Player of the Year with Roeselare, is leaving Tourcoing after being named MVP 18 times, winning the French Cup, and scoring a staggering 1,315 points. He will be replaced by Bulgarian Antev from Levski Sofia.

And in Italy, Trento became national champion for the sixth time. They defeated Conegliano 3-2 last weekend, thanks especially to 21 points from Michieletto. In the battle for fifth place and a Challenge Cup ticket, Milan won 1-3 at Modena, again led by top scorer Ferre Reggers with 17 points (52%).

(Compiled by Marcel Coppens)
Photo: Ronald Hoogendoorn