Unlike some of the Knack boys, Yana De Leeuw is adding another year as a valued setter at Darto Bevo Roeselare. She laughs a little about her decision to still be part of the team next season at age 35.

“I will then have played volleyball longer than my husband, Matthijs Verhanneman. I still feel good and I’ve had a pretty solid season. When considering whether to stay another year, the thought of not playing one year too many did cross my mind. Because the gap with my teammates naturally becomes big. When I start again in September, I’ll be 36, while in our team there are girls of 16, 17. They still need to be able to learn something from me, and for me it also has to remain fun. I think it will work!”

This season, she certainly doesn’t need to worry about that. They reached the cup final and are still fighting for the national title, with at least one double confrontation in the semifinals against… Oudegem, the opponent in that cup final.

Yana De Leeuw: “The fact that we first have to play two or three play-off matches against Oudegem is of course a bit silly. But yes, that’s the draw.”

Is that a disadvantage for Darto Bevo Roeselare?
“I don’t know if it’s really only a disadvantage for us. In the play-offs, these will be matches where on the one hand many tactical things will be tested, without revealing everything. But on the other hand, we obviously don’t want to be eliminated from the title race. Not easy. Because Oudegem finished only sixth in the league, but that’s not really where they belong.”

You of course have the handicap that opposite Nikita De Paepe is out with torn cruciate ligaments in her right knee. According to Oudegem coach Julien Van de Vyver, you don’t really have a second opposite…
“He’s right about that. There aren’t many options. We do play with four outside hitters, but putting one of them at opposite is not ideal. It’s up to us to find who can perform best in that position: Pauline Luyten, Laure Flamant, Janne Deleu or Lune Hoste. Who can offer the best solution? But we also see at Asterix that they sometimes play with three outside hitters on the court. So we’re certainly not without chances. What is different is that we’ve gone from being favourites to being the underdog, because most of our points came from Nikita. When she’s gone, we indeed have a problem.”

But you had already eliminated Asterix in the cup semifinals…
“Yes, but that was with Nikita on the court. So it’s a bit of guesswork. In the play-offs we eliminated Michelbeke after a decent match with some experiments. So we’ll see.”

What do you think are Oudegem’s strengths?
“They keep fighting for every point. Sometimes you have to attack ten times before you score, and that’s tough. They can limit their errors and bring the ball back so often. Then it’s up to us not to get nervous. In the first league match against them, we struggled with that. Only after trailing 2‑0 did we find our normal level again, control our nerves and win 2‑3.”
Oudegem does have a good mix of experience and talented youngsters…
“Certainly. Marlies Janssens, Eline Van Elsen, Nel De Meyer, Sarah Houben and Julie Maes already have a lot of experience. But this season they also see the breakthrough of Liese Verhelst, who scored 35 points last week. A great talent, whom we absolutely need to contain. But she’s not the only one to watch.”

Despite your rich career, your cup record still looks fairly modest.
“In 2010 I won the cup, the title and the Supercup with Asterix. But that’s it in terms of cups. It would be nice if I could have two cups on my record, next to two (or three?) titles. A cup final is always something special. Rarely high-level matches, lots of nerves and in the current circumstances difficult for everyone. Additionally, I won my first cup in the Lotto Arena, where I replaced the injured Ilka Van de Vyver. But in the immense Sportpaleis (Afas Dome), I’ve never played. That will be another experience for me.”

If you had to choose: the title or the cup?
“The classic answer would be that I want to win both. But if I really have to choose, I definitely go for the cup. That special atmosphere, a full arena, completely different from a play-off final!”

How do you see your role in that cup final?
“Putting my experience at the service of the team and above all bringing calm. Not panicking. When things go well, I can play comfortably. But when things go less well, I have to try to help everyone and stay calm. Yes, our coach can also get quite enthusiastic at times. You know he’s younger than me and it will be his first cup final. Maybe I’ll have to calm him down too! (laughs loudly)”

Looking a bit further ahead, do you see many changes in the team for next season?
“No. Only Britt Fransen would come over from Asterix, but otherwise we still have a relatively young team. Apart from me, no more thirty‑somethings. Laure Flamant missed the preparation and the start of the season due to a knee injury, but she is in good shape again and we will certainly still need her. It’s just a matter of waiting to see what will happen with Nikita. She was really looking forward to a stay abroad and worked hard for it. But of course we have to wait and see how she will be after about eight months of rehabilitation.”

Could you have gone further in Europe, and do you have European ambitions for next season?
“We were already happy not to be eliminated in the first round by Liberec. That would have been a real disappointment. But against Galatasaray, our goal was to score at least 15 points per set. The fact that we managed to win one set there was an incredible boost. There really wasn’t more possible against a team that absolutely wants to win that cup.

To go further, we simply don’t have the budget. The weakest player of Galatasaray probably earns ten times more than our best player. That’s comparing apples and pears. We are a team with students, people who work and who still make a lot of time to train. Let’s remain the good Belgian club we are.”

Text: MC
Photo: XV Photography

Schedule:
21/03: Oudegem – DB Roeselare (play-offs)
28/04: DB Roeselare – Oudegem (play-offs)
05/04: (if needed) DB Roeselare – Oudegem (play-offs)
11/04: Oudegem – DB Roeselare (cup final)

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