The Red Dragons suffered a 0-3 defeat against Italy in their second match of the third VNL week in Osaka. Belgium produced a strong performance against the reigning world champions and stayed level for long stretches, particularly in the second and third sets, but Italy’s quality made the difference in the decisive moments: 20-25, 22-25 and 22-25.

Just one day after the defeat against Cuba, the Red Dragons faced another opponent of the highest level in world champions Italy. The Italians made the better start and quickly moved into 1-3 and 3-6 leads. Belgium refused to be unsettled, however, and once again showed some excellent volleyball.

The Dragons closed the gap to a single point at 9-10, but Italy immediately responded and pulled away again at 9-13. Belgium matched the world champions in attack, with Ferre Reggers, Seppe Rotty and Simon Plaskie helping the team remain within touching distance. At 14-15, the set was wide open again.

Rotty and Plaskie continued to score consistently and brought the Dragons back to 18-20. Italy’s serving pressure then made the difference. With Yuri Romanò behind the service line, the Italians extended their advantage to 18-23. Belgium was unable to produce another comeback, allowing the world champions to take the opening set 20-25.

Italy also made the stronger start in the second set, although they initially struggled to build a lead of more than two or three points. The Dragons competed well, but Italy proved just slightly more efficient in most areas of the game. With Belgium trailing 9-13, head coach Emanuele Zanini called his first time-out.

Belgium continued to fight and once again demonstrated its resilience. An ace from Plaskie brought the Dragons back to within one point at 16-17. A series of strong Italian kill blocks reopened the gap, prompting Zanini to call his second time-out at 18-21.

Italy appeared to be heading towards a comfortable set victory at 19-23, but the Dragons refused to give up. With plenty of energy and pressure from the service line, they fought their way back to 22-23. The Italians remained composed, however, and closed out the set with strong serving pressure: 22-25. A few small details ultimately proved costly for Belgium.

The two teams remained evenly matched from the beginning of the third set. Belgium stayed close, although taking the lead continued to prove difficult. At 9-10, only one point separated the teams once again.

The Dragons continued to more than hold their own and increasingly put the world champions under pressure from the service line. With Plaskie serving and Reggers making an impact at the net, Belgium drew level at 13-13. The margin remained minimal after that. At 18-18, everything was still possible, although the Dragons were yet to move ahead.

The Red Dragons remained Italy’s equals until 22-22. Once again, however, the Italians showed their quality at the decisive moment. Their serving pressure caused problems for the Belgian reception before Mattia Bottolo scored the final point with a pipe attack: 22-25.

Just as they had against Cuba, the Red Dragons were defeated in three sets, but they can look back on an encouraging performance against the reigning world champions. Belgium created opportunities in every set and once again proved that it can compete with the very best teams in the world for long periods.

Simon Plaskie saw plenty of positives in Belgium’s performance. “Italy is the number one team in the world and played extremely clean volleyball, making very few unnecessary mistakes. Despite that, I think we played a good match. Losing always hurts, especially because we had some opportunities towards the end of the sets. We have to learn from these kinds of matches.”

“We have a very young team and still need to take several steps, but today we once again showed a lot of good things. The VNL is fantastic for our development. We play a lot of matches against teams that are extremely strong both physically and technically. Every day brings a new challenge and a new opponent. We are showing that we belong at this level and want to continue building towards the future.”

Head coach Emanuele Zanini also saw his team making progress, although he highlighted the small details that make the difference at this level. “We change our squad from week to week, which means that every week has to be analysed differently. The top countries are now also competing with their strongest teams. We have to continue working hard on many small details. In the third set, we were given a few opportunities that a team like Italy does not often offer. We have to make better use of those chances.”

Another demanding challenge awaits the Red Dragons on Friday, when Belgium faces host nation Japan. Japan remains unbeaten in this year’s VNL and the match will be played in a sold-out arena in front of around 20,000 Japanese supporters.

Played for Belgium: Reggers (14), Plaskie (13), D’Heer (3), Rotty (6), Valkiers (1), Colson (5), Lantsoght
Substitutes used: Fransen, Van Hoyweghen (1), Verwimp, Vandecruys, Baetens, Fafchamps