YvonBelienandLonnekeSloetjesofTheNetherlandscheer

Beliën in action with the Dutch national team during the Volleyball Nations League 2019

A staple on the Dutch women’s national team for the most part of the last decade, middle blocker Yvon Beliën announced her retirement at the conclusion of the 2022-2023 club season with Italy’s Savino Del Bene Scandicci.

The 29-year-old player decided to end her volleyball career after 12 years playing professionally and eight seasons with the Dutch national team, from which she retired at the start of 2022.

Beliën has been involved with each of the biggest moments of the Dutch national team over the last decade, most notably their fourth-place finish at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Over the course of 261 matches on the orange uniform, the middle blocker has also helped the team finish fourth at the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship and secure silver medals in back-to-back editions of the European Championship in 2015 and 2017.

“I am so proud that I was able to turn my hobby into my work,” she wrote in the Instagram post that announced her decision. “I got to play abroad for ten years with strong teams, to compete in many big tournaments, to know different cultures and to be able to develop into the person I am now, but above anything, I’m grateful for the wonderful people I got to meet. But on the other hand, the time away from home made me miss living in the Netherlands too.”

The middle blocker has been away from her home country since 2013, when she went on to play in the German League, where she stayed for two seasons. After another four years in Italy and three in Türkiye, she joined Savino Del Bene ahead of her final season in 2022-2023.

The team finished third in the Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile, but won the CEV Cup, providing Beliën with an appropriate farewell season.

“This last season with Savino Del Bene was one of the most incredible,” she continued. “It was beautiful to play at such a high level with a fantastic group of players at a big club, a beautiful city and working with a nice staff. The highlight of the season was winning the CEV Cup. Thank you everyone in Scandicci, you made my farewell extra special.”

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Lega Pallavolo Femminile Serie A1
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