While the Antwerp Sportpaleis was packed twice for the Belgian Cup finals, the German Cup finals in Mannheim also drew massive crowds.

Two Belgian players triumphed, lifting the prestigious trophy. Nathalie Lemmens (5 points at 62% efficiency) capped off her outstanding season with Dresden by comfortably defeating Münster (26-24, 25-12, 25-20). Her teammate Mia Kirchhoff wreaked havoc on Münster’s defense with her powerful serves.

Among the men, a Belgian was guaranteed to lift the trophy. It was also a ‘Belgian’ coaching duel, with Christophe Achten leading Düren against Joël Banks' Recycling Berlin (Banks is a former Maaseik coach). Achten’s team put up a strong fight, pushing the favorites to five sets, but ultimately had no answer to Hanes’ 130 km/h serves, which tore through their defense and secured Berlin’s third consecutive cup victory. Robbe Van de Velde made a brief four-set appearance (scoring 1 point), while Simon Plaskie also stepped onto the court and contributed to his team’s victory with a successful block. However, both players’ future in Germany seems uncertain.

Men’s Competitions
In Italy, a strong performance by Wout D’Heer (10 points at 43% efficiency, 6 blocks) was not enough for Taranto, which lost a tiebreaker at home (2,245 spectators) against Verona. Ferre Reggers (12 points – 48% efficiency) could not help Milan avoid a 0-3 defeat against Modena in front of 4,268 fans. Rumors suggest that top club Civitanova may be interested in signing Reggers next season.

In Poland, Kedzierzyn (Igor Grobelny 11 points – 42%) suffered a heavy 0-3 defeat in their top match against Zawiercie. Mathijs Desmet, who made three brief appearances and scored 1 point, could not secure a win for Gorzów, which lost 3-1 in Warsaw.

In Russia, Sam Deroo and his Kazan teammates struggled against Novosibirsk, which forced a tiebreak.

In Spain, Tomas Rousseaux had some rest time after celebrating Guaguas’ cup victory, though his team still managed a 3-0 win against Arenal.

In Croatia, Simon Vlahovic and his teammates maintained a strong position after Ribola Kastela’s 0-3 win against Rovinj.
In Romania, Marin Dukic (20 points – 52% efficiency) was once again Craiova’s top scorer in their 3-1 championship quarterfinal victory over Steaua Bucharest.

Women’s Competitions
In Italy, Silke Van Avermaet came off the bench and played a key role in Busto Arsizio’s tiebreak victory over Talmassons by scoring the match point. There was no Heyrman on the court, but Milan still managed a 1-3 win against Chieri. Britt Herbots was limited to substitute appearances for Scandicci, registering a 50% reception rate, which was not enough to prevent a 1-3 loss to Novara.

Belgian players also found success in Japan, where Kaja Grobelna helped Queenseis win twice against Okayama (3-0 and 3-1), scoring 35 points (31% efficiency) and 30 points (41%) respectively. Lise Van Hecke (24 points) led Osaka to a 3-0 win against Saitama but lost 1-3 in a rematch the following day, despite her strong performance (19 points at 57% efficiency).

In Poland, GB Lodz (Dominika Sobolska 5 points – 50%) secured a 3-0 win against Wroclaw.

In France, Britt Rampelberg (50% reception rate) helped Venelles pull off another upset in a top match against Nancy, where her team came back from a 2-0 deficit to stay in first place.

In Greece, Ilka Van de Vyver and PAOK Thessaloniki secured a 0-3 victory against Milon.

In Serbia, Radnicki (without Mila Vlahovic) defeated Omladinac 2-3.

📷 Photo: Volleyball Bundesliga Facebook Page
(Compiled by Marcel Coppens)