Belgium - Netherlands 3-0

With a dry 3-0, our Red Dragons took a firm revenge against the Netherlands for the 0-3 they suffered in their last official game four years ago. That also happened then at an Olympic qualifying tournament, albeit in Rotterdam.
This time there was absolutely no home advantage, quite the contrary. On Chinese soil, there was no stopping our men: 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-15).

This second win keeps our men in the running for an Olympic ticket. Tomorrow afternoon 1 pm (7 am Belgian time) follows another crucial duel. This time the Dragons will take on Argentina, the bronze medallists from Tokyo.

Full report:

Set 1 : 25-22
From the very first point, our Red Dragons made their intentions clear: Wout D'Heer immediately blocked Dutch scoring machine Nimir Abdelaziz twice. Sam Deroo threw an ace in between and in no time it was 6-3. Our captain pushed through to 9-6, after which the Dutch successfully started the chase: 9-9.
Seppe Rotty evaded blocks by Parkinson and Jorna, both ex-Maaseik, on three occasions. Stijn D'Hulst fouled the same Jorna for 14-12 and Wout D'Heer caught Nimir for a third time: 16-14. Playmaker Keemink failed to deal with a slick service from Michiel Fransen, and Pieter Coolman treated Nimir to a fourth killblock: 21-18. The latter revenged with his speciality: an ace for 21-20. Ter Horst even blocked the equaliser on the board. But when Tuinstra aimed out (24-22), Deroo did not let our first set ball go unused: 25-22.

Set 2: 25-19
In set two too, we immediately took the lead, again with a block on Nimir. But the double run-out, first to 4-2, then to 9-7, was wiped out twice by our clinging northern neighbours.
At 10-10, Ferre Reggers also brought out his hammer. In one go, we gathered 13-10. Again the Dutch closed the gap at 15-15. However, they did not get ahead, as with after fine floor work by Martin Perin and Stijn D'Hulst, Reggers and Deroo restored the gap: 19-16. A successful video-challenge inspired D'Heer for a five-point gap: 23-18. Reggers tipped the second set on the board: 25-19.

Set 3: 25-15
For a moment, Orange seemed to tip the match with a quick start in set three, but after 4-5, the orange lights went out completely. Coolman served an ace, D'Heer walloped Nimir for the sixth time and the latter freaked out when a video call ruled against him: 10-5. Consequence yellow, and immediately afterwards another block against, this time from Deroo. The latter crowned himself absolute MVP immediately afterwards by also blocking Nimir's replacement Ter Horst: 12-5, an 8-0 spurt in between, please.
The Dutch silver fleet tipped over and sank like a brick: 20-9. The organ point was for Seppe Rotty: 25-15