The Belgian volleyball men are ranked 21st in the world, but have found their feet next to the top nations in OKT. In their first match, they had match ball against European champions and world number one Poland.
That gave a huge boost to Emanuele Zanini’s men, as they defeated hosts China (FIVB-34) 3-1 in their second match and wiped the floor against Netherlands (FIVB-10).
The Red Dragons controlled the game throughout. In the first group, the Dutch always closed the gap, one last time, with a score of 22-22. Finally Sam Dero made the difference with two hits (25-22).
With 21 points, Diro was crowned top scorer. The captain also continued his dominance in the second and third sets. The Dutch were able to compete until 16-16 in the second group, but Belgium then took the lead. Ferry Regions now complete the set (25-19).
At the beginning of the third group, the Netherlands tried to respond, but Belgium quickly advanced and exited with a score of 5-12. After another error by the opponent, the score became 9-20. Seppi Rutte settled the match after an hour and 15 minutes with his ninth point.
In the standings, the Belgian team leads with 7 points, ahead of Argentina (6 points). They are followed by Poland and Canada (5 points), both of which have played fewer matches. Netherlands (4 points) in fifth place. The top two can go to Paris.
The Belgians play 4 more times. The matches against Argentina (FIVB-6) and Canada (FIVB-12) are likely to be decisive.
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