Women u20 2021

U20 hosts Belgium finish off on high note in Kortrijk

Belgium finish 13th, Thailand take 14th

Published 11:00, 18 Jul 2021

In the very last match of the FIVB Volleyball U20 Women’s World Championship, co-hosts Belgium finished off the tournament on a high note. On Sunday in Kortrijk, they shut out Thailand to claim the 13th place in the final standings. The Asian side finished 14th. The team of Rwanda took the 15th place, while Puerto Rico who had to withdraw before the start of the competition remained 16th.

Cheered on by the home supporters, Belgium were well in control through the most part of the match and cruised to a well-deserved straight set victory. With Anouck Van Bouwel leading the way with five aces, the home team piled up as many as 11 serving points in the match, to which Thailand responded with seven. The Belgians also outblocked the opponents by nine stuffs to two. In offence, they made 36 kills against 29 from the Asian team.

Middle blocker Anna Koulberg contributed the match high of 15 points, including three aces, three kill blocks and the winning point with a solid hit through the middle, which shaped up the final 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-19) victory. Waranya Srilaoong, with 13 points, was Thailand’s most prolific scorer.

“I am very happy that my team played this well, because we worked hard for this and it’s nice to win at the end,” said Luna Van Acker, setter and captain of Belgium.