Saturday 8 February is the last match day of the regular competition in the Lotto Volley League. And what a match day! No fewer than five teams are still competing for three places, which entitle them to participate in the brand new BeNe Conference between the best four teams from Belgium and the Netherlands.

General league director Marie De Clerck is therefore extremely satisfied. “We asked for more excitement and this is what we wanted. Apart from Knack Roeselare, no team is certain yet that they will be there. That is promising. Certainly with direct confrontations such as Aalst – Maaseik and Achel – Haasrode Leuven. Add to that the fact that the first four take the results of their mutual confrontations with them to that BeNe Conference and that makes it super exciting there too.”

Marie also saw that some Dutch clubs had already announced the matches for the first weeks of that Belgian-Dutch competition. “But that is certainly completely premature,” she knows. To quickly explain the main points of this competition.

Still, we will listen to a few clubs: Haasrode Leuven of coach Hendrik Tuerlinckx for example.

Hendrik Tuerlinckx: “Clear message: win”

My prediction for Belgium? Knack Roeselare is therefore a certainty. Normally Decospan Menen will join because they have a relatively easy home match against Brabo Antwerp, but for the rest everything is one big question mark.”

“The first of this competition is the first Belgian-Dutch champion. The numbers one and two of each country are exempt from the quarter finals in the national play-offs and play the semi-finals directly against the numbers one and two from the national play-offs. Perhaps a bit difficult to follow? Oh well, every system has its pros and cons. Just stick to the current formula for a few years and it will be clear to everyone. Of course we will also evaluate one and the other afterwards. We are convinced that there will be 'live' TV broadcasts of at least one match per weekend for the BeNe Conference.

In our opinion, you are in the worst position of all the candidates: you have not won twice against any of your direct competitors…

Hendrik Tuerlinckx: “The message is more than clear to us: we have to get the three points in Achel. We have been on a good course in recent weeks, but we may have lost our chances earlier by not getting anything at Waremme. Because we did win at home against Maaseik, Aalst, we went to win at Menen and then a series of tiebreaks. Oh well, all the teams are so evenly matched that anything remains possible.”

How bad is it if you don't finish in the top four?

“Then certainly not everything will have happened for the rest of the season. We can still finish first or second in the national play-offs between the teams that finish between fifth and tenth place on Saturday. In that case, we will play the play-offs afterwards and then certainly everything is still possible. Although of course the ambition is to finish in the first edition of that Belgian-Dutch competition. We also want to play against teams from other countries; a change of food is the spice of life.”

Your chances against Achel?

"They came to win 2-3 at our place at a time when they were really 'in the flow'. And of course they are where they are now deservedly. Although I thought I saw a slight decline after New Year with an improbable loss at Antwerp. I therefore estimate our chances at fifty-fifty and it is a cliché as a house, but the form of the day will be decisive."

Frank Depestele: “Yes, against the most difficult opponent”

Lindemans Aalst has a one-point lead over the trio Maaseik-Menen-Haasrode, has won twice against Achel and is therefore mathematically in the best position to finish in the top four. However, that is no guarantee for coach Frank Depestele.

Frank Depestele: “Ha no, because we will also be playing against the most difficult opponent in that group. If we win against Maaseik, we will be there. We also have the advantage of having won the most matches. We are also currently in a good period with an impressive win against Brabo Antwerp, who may have had a bad day. No, we have dropped points at other times. We lost heavily in Haasrode, lost at home against Menen and lost against Caruur Gent, in which we dropped no fewer than nine set points. But then again a home win against Roeselare.”

Is home advantage important to you?

"I think so. We only lost once: against Menen. Whether we can also win against Maaseik will probably depend on our start. If it goes well then, we can keep the nerves to a minimum and then there might be something in it. On the other hand, I notice that coach Claudio Gewehr has more drive in his team and that Maaseik also believes in it again."

How bad would it be if you didn't end up in the top four?

"Then that's it. It would of course be a disappointment and we'll have to turn the switch again. It will be a mentally difficult period for our team, but we have enough staff to cope with that. Taking part in the BeNe Conference is unique, and we would like to take part. It's also a bit of a matter of prestige. On the other hand, I can see tiring journeys of three or four hours to the Netherlands: Huizen, Apeldoorn, Doetinchem and certainly Groningen. But we haven't discussed how we're going to get there: with or without an overnight stay, by bus, with our own transport... We'll see on Sunday if we qualify."

…

Just to mention that the women's team is playing to finish in the top six, without a Belgian-Dutch competition. These six teams are now known (Asterix, Bevo Roeselare, Tchalou, Charleroi, Ghent, Oudegem) and on the last match day, the main focus is on Bevo Roeselare – Asterix, a battle for the leading position.

The standings and the program:

Roeselare 40 points; 2. Achel 35p.; 3. Aalst 33p; 4. Maaseik, Menen, Haasrode Leuven 32p.
Saturday: Menen – Antwerp, Aalst – Maaseik, Achel – Haasrode Leuven…

Text: Marcel Coppens

Photos: archive