Belgium made more unforced errors than Algeria, 19 against 16, but compensated well with expressed dominance in the other three scoring elements – 10-1 in kill blocks, 5-1 in serving aces and 44-33 in spike kills. 22-year-old opposite Ferre Reggers and outside and captain Sam Deroo each spiked 15 points at a 75% success rate. Reggers also produced two aces and two kill blocks to top the scorers chart of the match with 19 points. Sub-in outside Tizit Farouk was Algeria’s most prolific scorer of the match with 11 points to his name.
“For us, it is also a little bit of a surprise that we are first in the group. I think everyone expected Italy to be first, but the win over Italy two days ago was decisive. This is the best way to go into the next round and we are very happy,” Belgian middle blocker Wout D'heer told VBTV. “Yesterday we took a complete rest day and we managed it really well as a team to recover after the late five-set match against Italy. Now it will be important to recover again, practice well and go to the next round. For sure, we will watch the game (France v Argentina) tonight. We want to know against whom we are playing and it will already be the first game that we can study our next opponent.”
