Stuttgart, Germany, 11 June, 2019 – Belgium overpowered the Netherlands in a thrilling five-set match to gain their sixth win in the Volleyball Nations League 2019. Belgium opposite Kaja Grobelna led her team to the victory by scoring 32 points.
Kaja Grobelna, Belgium opposite and top scorer of the match with 32 points: “It was a difficult match. We increased our service in the fifth set to gain the win. It´s a good feeling to have six wins on our side, but we are not aiming at the Final Six at the moment. I´m happy to play against Germany tomorrow. The match against the host is always the most attractive.”
Gert Vande Broek, Belgium Coach: “I´m very happy with the win. We kept fighting after two close sets. That´s the spirit of our talented team. I really like the way we have played this match and didn’t give up after the Netherlands closed the score. We now have six Volleyball Nations League wins which makes it already a very good season for us. We still can improve our level, but we are still on a higher level compared to last year.”
Jamie Morrison, Coach of the Netherlands: “Belgium is a very good team and deserved the win. We made a good comeback after trailing two sets. We had to make some changes and couldn’t pull it out – I hope we will play better tomorrow. We have to be more aggressive in the service tomorrow.”
Maret Balkestein-Grothues, Captain of the Netherlands: “We let it slip away in the first two sets. We had some players who are in the team for the first time in this Volleyball Nations League season. Of course, Belgium put us under high pressure with the service which made it even more difficult for us. We need more practice time to get in a better shape.”
