The morning after the 3-2 defeat against Finland, a bitter taste hung in the corridors of the Belgian players’ hotel in Tampere. The Red Dragons seemed, after the 3-1 win against the Netherlands, on track for a decent start, but 24 hours later they bumped into the raw reality of an ecstatic Finnish wall. A boiling hall, an overwhelming anthem and an opponent who, with 8 aces and tireless energy, thwarted the Belgian plans. The frustration in the dressing room was deep and justified. Because although the Dragons volleyed along at times, there was a lack of service pressure and tactical sharpness at the decisive moments.

Yet in an exhausting tournament there is no time to sit in sack and ash for long. The calculators can go back in the cupboard: the task for the team of head coach Emanuele Zanini is crystal clear. With Estonia and Denmark there are two consecutive matches in which only the full haul counts, before the clash against Serbia shuffles the final cards in pool C. That Finland in between surprisingly (or precisely not?) won 3-0 against Serbia only makes the dynamics in the group more capricious.

In the middle of that storm of processing and renewed focus, Ferre Reggers sits down. The 23-year-old opposite talks without blinking about the mentally difficult hours after a defeat, the search for the right rhythm and the absolute necessity to take control from the very first serve against Estonia. It is no coincidence that the top attacker is fresh after a free morning and the first video images of Estonia. The disappointment of Finland has in the meantime been converted into healthy fighting spirit.

The morning after such a match is often the hardest. With what feeling did you get out of bed on Sunday?

Ferre Reggers: “Honestly? With a very bitter feeling. A lot of frustration remains. They played really very well yesterday, while we did not reach our top level. Then you know that in these kinds of circumstances it becomes a very difficult story. At certain moments we absolutely played along, but we simply did not get enough pressure on our own service. If you play against a team like Finland that can build up from a comfortable reception every time, you play them right into their flow. Once they have that energy, it becomes heavy.”

Do you also return in thought to that opening match against the Netherlands? Because that seemed completely opposite in terms of course.

“Absolutely. In retrospect, that win against the Netherlands was perhaps even deceptive. The Netherlands were particularly poor and we did not really have to dig deep into our arsenal of strengths in that match. Then you win, but you are not really pushed to go to the limit. If you then 24 hours later face an opponent who flames from ball one, the transition is big. Everyone in the group feels that way and the focus was certainly there. We knew before the match against Finland that the pressure would be fully on, especially in that full hall.”

The atmosphere in the hall was indeed impressive. What impact did this have on you?

“I’m not going to lie: their national anthem before the match was really a goosebumps moment, very overwhelming with all those Finnish fans. But well, that must never be an excuse. In the first set we still started decently and came back nicely in money time. But in set two they came out of the blocks extremely aggressively, while we remained too waiting. Then you notice that some doubt creeps in. You don’t just talk confidence into yourself when the momentum is against you, you felt that at that moment throughout the whole team.”

Statistically it is noticeable that Finland hit 8 aces while their reception figures were also very high with 62% positive and 44% perfect receptions. That actually says enough.

“If you cannot develop service pressure against a flow team like Finland, then you bring them into position much too easily. Therefore, those pisballs from the service line must simply come out. You have to force the opponent to make mistakes. Personally I was also struggling a bit with that yesterday. I started well in the first set with a lot of confidence, but after a double substitution you sometimes get a bit out of rhythm. If then your first serve after such a substitution does not fall, you have to mentally reset completely. Against the Netherlands it was just the opposite. That is something I personally have to learn from.”

Yet you still drag out a tiebreak, in which you almost come back after a 5-1 and 10-4 deficit. What do you take from that?

“That fourth set we take on character, but honestly? It did not feel somewhere entirely deserved. In a tiebreak everything is about flow and emotion. If you then immediately come 5-1 behind, it is an extremely hard fight. We came close again when the pressure suddenly fell off completely, but it was too late. In the dressing room the noses were immediately again in the same direction: this must not paralyse us, because the tournament has only just begun.”

Today the focus is directly on Estonia. What does the preparation look like?

“We were able to sleep in a bit this morning and have some free time to clear our heads in the hotel, which was really necessary. From lunch onwards the switch has been flipped. We have left the match against Finland behind us and have dived directly into Estonia. Physically I feel surprisingly fresh, so that is not the issue. The fatigue must not be a factor. It is now a matter of continuing, because the intention is that we still have a long way to go in this tournament.”

In the meantime Finland won 3-0 against Serbia. That shakes up the pool quite a bit…

“That is not directly super news for us in terms of standing in the pool, but it does not entirely surprise me. Finland has a young, incredibly dynamic team that can surf on that wave of enthusiasm. Serbia is a completely different type of team, more physical and somewhat more static. Maybe the playing style of Serbia even suits us tactically a bit better than the game of Finland. But well, we must mainly look at ourselves. We must reach our own level, regardless of who is on the other side of the net.”

With Estonia and Denmark there are now two matches in which the pressure of ‘having to win’ lies entirely with you. How should you approach this?

“Underestimation will absolutely not happen, yesterday’s result takes care of that. It is very simple: we have to take three times three points. Three certain wins, that is the only thing that counts. Estonia is a team that can also really get into a flow. They have enormously many enthusiastic fans with them and they made 11 killblocks against Serbia. Saaremaa (ex-Aalst, ex-Maaseik) took six of those alone and with Tammearu (ex-Roeselare) they have someone on the wing who can carry a match.”

Where lies for the Red Dragons the key to immediately lock down Estonia?

“Estonie has overall a worse reception than Finland. Thus, Timo Lõhmus, former opposite of Aalst, is in the reception, so if we can increase our service pressure from the very first ball and put him under tension, our own block-defence system will come into its own much better. Guys like Pieter Coolman and Martijn Colson then have the space to dominate at the net. We must start more aggressively, dictate our own rhythm and not give them for a second the feeling that there is something to get.”

Are you meanwhile already looking with a sideways eye at that decisive clash with Serbia at the end of the pool?

“No, absolutely not. That would be the biggest mistake. Denmark for example is also a team that plays very black-and-white: against Finland they had an absolute off day, but against the Netherlands and Estonia they showed excellent volleyball. So it just depends on which day they have. Estonia is our very first priority. We do not have to win every set by 10 points difference. We must neither rush nor calculate too much. We must as a group find our own rhythm again, take back the confidence on the service line and together force that flow. We know our qualities and know what we can do. But we must now take that step to continue to grow in the tournament.”

Text: Kenny Hennens
Photo: CEV

Red Dragons schedule:

Monday 14 September (19:00): Belgium vs Estonia

Tuesday 15 September (16:00): Belgium vs Denmark

Thursday 17 September (16:00): Serbia vs Belgium