The Dutch, who had in star opposite Nimir Abdel-Aziz their main scorer against the United States and Cuba, producing 24 and 22 points respectively, saw Van Garderen carry the team’s offensive load against the Germans, producing a match-high 21 points, with 15 kills, two aces and four blocks.
The Dutch captain, the 31-year-old Nimir was limited to just three points in the first set, but found his rhythm afterward and ended up adding 14 (ten kills, three aces, one block) in his team’s second triumph in the VNL 2023.
“We knew it was going to be a fight because these are two teams that play at a very similar level and every time we play them it’s like that,” the opposite remarked. “We didn’t always show our best volleyball, but we fought the entire time and I’m happy for the win and for the team. Winning the second set was big for us, it gave us a lot of confidence. I didn’t play very well today in the first two sets, I made some mistakes, and I’m glad some of our other players did a really good job today. To me, it doesn’t matter who scores the points as long as we win matches. It was a team victory and honestly, winning a match like this makes me happier than when I score a lot of points.”
