The Red Dragons lost their third Volleyball Nations League match in Brasília against Serbia. After a difficult opening set, Belgium fought their way back into the match and deservedly took the second set, but across the full contest Serbia proved to be slightly more efficient. The Serbs won 1-3. The set scores were 18-25, 26-24, 21-25 and 22-25.

Head coach Emanuele Zanini made a few changes to his starting seven. Plaskie and D’Heer started the match instead of Perin and Van Elsen. They lined up alongside D’Hulst, Reggers, Rotty, Fafchamps and libero Lantsoght.

Serbia started the match with a lot of pressure from the service line. Two aces in a row immediately put Belgium 0-3 behind and forced Zanini into an early time out. The Serbs continued to dominate with their serve, while Belgium struggled to score and had to chase from the start. At 6-11, 8-14 and 13-21, Serbia had taken full control of the set. Verwimp came in to serve and showed that liberos can also put pressure from the service line, but the gap was too big. Serbia convincingly won the opening set, 18-25.

Belgium showed a completely different face in the second set. The Red Dragons started sharper and quickly moved ahead at 6-2. Serbia struggled to put the ball on the floor in the opening phase, while Belgium finished its chances much better. The lead grew to 9-4 and later 14-8. With Serbia’s service pressure lower than in the first set, the Belgians were able to get into their attacking rhythm more easily. At 24-19, the set seemed to be within reach, but Serbia fought all the way back to 24-24 with strong serving. Still, the Dragons held their nerve. Belgium eventually finished the job and took the second set, 26-24.

Serbia carried the level from the end of the second set into the third. The Serbs quickly took the lead again and forced Zanini to call a time out at 8-11. For Belgium, the points mainly came through Reggers, but scoring remained difficult against Serbia’s strong block and defence. Serbia extended the gap to 11-15 and kept control from there. The Red Dragons tried to stay close, but at 20-24 Serbia earned its first set point. Belgium saved one, but Serbia took the set 21-25 and moved back in front in the match.

Serbia also had the better start in the fourth set. At 1-4, Zanini once again called his players to the side. Belgium had to chase, and Baetens came on for Rotty to bring extra energy to the team. The Red Dragons kept fighting, but could not put enough pressure on the Serbian reception. Serbia was more efficient in attack and kept its advantage at 9-12, 15-18 and 18-21. The final phase of the fourth set delivered high-level volleyball, with spectacular rallies and great actions on both sides of the net. Belgium closed the gap to 21-22, but Serbia earned its first match point at 22-24. The Serbs converted it immediately to close the match, 22-25.

For the Red Dragons, this was their third match in a row in Brasília. Serbia looked fresher throughout the match, while the run of consecutive games clearly started to weigh on Belgium. Tomorrow’s rest day comes at the right time.

“We have a very good group. Everyone keeps supporting each other and giving each other confidence. Tomorrow will mainly be a day to recover well”, libero Lantsoght said after the match.

Head coach Emanuele Zanini also saw his team show character once again. “We knew this would be a big fight. Serbia has a lot of character and spirit, but we showed that we can match that. At the same time, I felt that some players were mentally and physically tired. Playing three matches in a row without 24 hours of recovery is very demanding. Tomorrow we will use the day to recover.”

Played for Belgium: Reggers (25), D’Hulst, Plaskie (7), D’Heer (7), Rotty (6), Fafchamps (11), Lantsoght. Came in: Baetens (3), Verwimp, Van Elsen, Valkiers and Fransen (1).