The Red Dragons claimed an important victory over China in their second match of week two of the Volleyball Nations League. After a thrilling opening set, which narrowly went China’s way, Belgium responded with maturity and turned the match around. The set scores were 26-28, 25-21, 25-21 and 25-20.

Head coach Emanuele Zanini started with the same line-up as in the match against Poland. China, led by Belgian coach Vital Heynen, made the better start. At 0-3, Zanini already called his first time-out. Belgium managed to reduce the gap to 6-8, but struggled to fully close the two-point margin. The Chinese put a lot of pressure from the service line and kept their narrow lead at 10-12. With Ferre Reggers at the service line, the Red Dragons fought back to 15-15, prompting Heynen to call his first time-out. China, however, remained solid and moved back in front at 17-19. Belgium took the lead for the first time in the set at 22-21, just in time. Valkiers distributed the game well and the Belgians earned two set points at 24-22. But China showed its strength in block defence and levelled the score at 24-24. With two aces, the Chinese eventually took the opening set 26-28.

China also started strongly in the second set, but this time it was Belgium that moved ahead at 7-5. The Dragons then raised their level and opened up a 14-9 lead, driven by a strong Reggers. At 20-13, Belgium seemed to be on its way to winning the set, but Yang served China back into the set at 20-19. The match was wide open again, but the Belgians did not panic. They moved ahead to 24-20 and, after China saved the first set point, Reggers hammered the ball down to seal the set at 25-21.

The third set remained close for a long time. Belgium took a first lead at 8-5 and managed to hold on to it. At 12-11, China came close again, but the Red Dragons quickly restored order and moved ahead to 14-11. Once again, China refused to give in and drew level at 18-18. In money time, Belgium responded. At 21-20, the Dragons took control and, with Reggers playing a leading role, moved ahead to 24-20. Moments later, they closed out the set 25-21.

The fourth set also started evenly, with both teams staying close until 5-6. The Red Dragons then forced a three-point gap and moved ahead to 9-6. Belgium maintained its lead and, at 13-9, Heynen called a time-out. From 15-11, the score moved to 20-17, once again with Reggers finishing strongly. In money time, the Red Dragons played with maturity and did not allow China back into the set. After leading 22-18, they eventually closed it out 25-20.

Ferre Reggers was the standout performer for Belgium. The opposite scored 38 points and reached an attacking efficiency of 62 percent, an exceptional performance at this level.

Played for Belgium: Reggers (38), D’Heer (6), Rotty (1), Valkiers (2), Fafchamps (10), Perin (9) and Lantsoght. Came in: Plaskie (6), Fransen, Van Hoyweghen, Vandecruys and Baetens (6).



Samuel Fafchamps stressed the importance of the victory after the match. “This was a very important win for us. We are a new team in the Volleyball Nations League and it is important to take steps in the world ranking. Of the matches we have played so far, this was probably the most important one. And we took it.”

Fafchamps also had nothing but praise for Ferre Reggers. “Ferre is a real scoring machine, but also simply a very good teammate. Today, he once again showed how important he is for us. We are very happy to have him in our team.”

Head coach Emanuele Zanini was pleased with the way his team reacted after losing the opening set. “We knew beforehand that this would be a very difficult and very important match. Not only for our path in this Volleyball Nations League, but also with a view to the world ranking. Everyone is in the race towards Olympic qualification and China is close to us. That is why this win was very important.”

Zanini mainly saw a mature Belgium in the second, third and fourth sets. “We struggled today in the outside hitter position. It was not easy to find continuity and stability there, but in the end we found a solution as a team. Tactically, we reacted well. In the fourth set, we also found more variation in our serve and managed to limit China better.”

The head coach also praised his standout player. “Of course I want to congratulate the whole team, but Ferre deserves a special mention today. He played another very strong match and scored a huge number of points. But above all, this was a team victory.”

Looking ahead to the match against Germany, Zanini did not want to make any definitive decisions yet. “First, we have to look at the recovery of every player, and certainly Ferre’s recovery. We played a long match yesterday and another tough match today. We will evaluate everything with the medical staff and then make the best possible decision.”