The Red Dragons also suffered defeat in their third match of Week 3 of the Volleyball Nations League in Osaka. Facing hosts Japan, the world’s fifth-ranked team, Belgium put up a strong fight, particularly during the opening two sets, but the Japanese side proved decisive at the key moments. Japan claimed a 3-0 victory (25-20, 25-22, 25-16). Opposite Ferre Reggers led Belgium with 20 points, while Kento Kai finished as Japan’s top scorer with 18.

The Red Dragons made a solid start and matched Japan point for point during the opening exchanges. At 2-2, the teams were still level, but the hosts then shifted into a higher gear. A strong serving run helped Japan open up a 6-2 lead before extending it to 9-3. Belgium refused to back down and gradually reduced the deficit. The Dragons stayed within reach at 15-8, but Japan pulled away again to 18-9. Belgium then produced an impressive comeback, cutting the gap to 19-16, then 21-18 and eventually 23-20. However, the Dragons could not get any closer as Japan closed out the opening set 25-20.

Japan also took control early in the second set. After leading 6-4, the home side produced another strong run to stretch the score to 11-4. Belgium struggled to break through Japan’s outstanding defence but continued to battle. The Dragons gradually reduced the deficit through 14-9 and 19-13. Another late comeback brought Belgium back to 24-22, forcing Japan to stay focused until the very end, but the hosts calmly converted their first set point to take the second set 25-22.

Belgium enjoyed its best start of the match in the third set, racing to a 1-4 lead. Japan quickly recovered to level the score at 6-6, and both teams remained locked together until 9-9. From that point on, the hosts took control once again. Japan opened up a decisive 13-9 advantage and never looked back. Belgium stayed within touching distance until 16-12, but the Japanese remained highly efficient in both attack and defence. The hosts extended their lead to 18-12 and later 23-16 before sealing the match 25-16.

The Red Dragons have little time to dwell on the defeat. On Sunday, they conclude their VNL campaign with a crucial match against Canada. It will be Belgium’s final opportunity to finish the summer on a positive note with a victory over a direct rival.

Ferre Reggers
“Of course, we would have preferred to come away with a win, but you can learn a lot from playing a team like Japan. Just look at their statistics: they made only eight errors throughout the entire match. During the game, you could also feel that they don’t give you a single point for free.
We simply made too many errors ourselves today. It’s never easy to lose three matches in a row by 3-0. Mentally, that’s tough, but at the same time we know our last match is the most important one. That’s why we have to keep our heads up and focus entirely on Canada.
We’re still competing in the Volleyball Nations League and experiencing this level for the first time. We also have to see that as something positive. Over the past few days we’ve played against some outstanding teams, and those experiences will only make us better.
Now we have to stay positive. Nothing has changed about our objective: we want to win that final match, and we’ll do everything we can to make it happen.”

Emanuele Zanini
“First of all, I want to congratulate Japan. They are playing outstanding volleyball at the moment and deserve all the credit. There’s a reason why they are ranked so high in the world. They play volleyball at an exceptionally high level. Today, the gap between Japan and us was still too big. They play a different style of volleyball. We had to take risks, especially with our serving, to try to put them under pressure. At the same time, they also served extremely well. On top of that, they made very few errors. That says everything about their level, and they fully deserved this victory.
Of course, we’re disappointed. Nobody likes losing, but we also have to acknowledge that Japan simply performed at a higher level today. Now we need to move on quickly and shift our full focus to the next match. Mentally, we have to reset because another very important and difficult match awaits us against Canada. We want to finish this Volleyball Nations League campaign in the best possible way, and we’ll do everything we can to end it with a positive result on Sunday.”