The Belgian U18 girls will begin their European Volleyball Championship in Latvia this week. In a pool with eight countries, seven matches await the young Belgian selection of national coach Yorick Vande Velde. Belgium opens the tournament on Wednesday 1 July against Spain and will then face Turkey, Italy, Czechia, Iceland, Poland and host country Latvia.

For Belgium, it will be a tough start right away. Spain, Turkey and Italy are the first three opponents. Turkey and Italy in particular traditionally belong to the big names in European youth volleyball. Spain, meanwhile, is known as a team that plays with a lot of enthusiasm and energy.

“We are playing in a pool with eight countries, so that means seven matches. We start strongly right away against Spain, Turkey and Italy. Turkey and Italy are certainly big names in volleyball. Spain is a team that plays with a lot of enthusiasm and energy. We have to try, as always, to make a good start,” says national coach Yorick Vande Velde.
After the first three matches, duels against Czechia and Iceland will follow. In the final part of the pool phase, Belgium will also take on Poland and Latvia. The Belgian selection mainly wants to start the tournament without any complexes.

“Against those strong countries, we have little to lose and everything to win. We have to try to play that way as well. Our ambition is certainly to beat one of those strong teams, such as Turkey or Poland. If, in addition, we can also win our other matches, we should be able to aim for a top-three place in the pool. That would be a nice ambition. A top three in the pool could also mean a World Championship next year, so that would be very nice.”

“The preparation has been good. We were able to prepare for longer than during the qualifiers. We were able to play against the Netherlands and Germany and those were interesting matches. We feel that we have improved our level and that we are ready. We also gave the players a free weekend, so that everyone can start the tournament completely fresh after the heat.”

Belgium U18 women’s selection:
Setters
#7 Fenne Haeck
#18 Aylïne Lambrechts

Liberos
#1 Fee De Ryck
#3 Wies Schoonis

Middles
#5 Hannah Maes
#12 Ana Van den Spiegel
#16 Harriet Jarju

Opposites
#4 Helena Vavedin
#9 Ayiana Hall

Outside hitters
#2 Lana Vandecasteele
#6 Ella Joosen ©
#10 Lotte Vandeven
#13 Louise Irigaray
#14 Jill Willems

Staff
Head coach: Yorick Vande Velde
Assistant coach: Tom Claes
Assistant coach: Simon Hermans
Scout: Steven Coomans
Physio: Joran Point
Team manager: Justine D’Hondt

Belgium U18 match schedule:
01/07/2026 at 17:30: Belgium U18 - Spain U18
02/07/2026 at 15:00: Belgium U18 - Turkey U18
03/07/2026 at 17:30: Belgium U18 - Italy U18
05/07/2026 at 12:30: Belgium U18 - Czechia U18
06/07/2026 at 17:30: Belgium U18 - Iceland U18
08/07/2026 at 12:30: Belgium U18 - Poland U18
09/07/2026 at 20:00: Belgium U18 - Latvia U18