The Netherlands are also fielding a very young team in the VNL 2025 and find themselves fighting against relegation after the first two weeks. Filling the big shoes of Nimir Abdel-Aziz at opposite, Michiel Ahyi has been performing well for the Dutch, having tallied 124 points so far. Outside hitter Tom Koops, who leads the VNL in passes (81) and ranks sixth in digs (59) and middle blocker Luuc van Der Ent, who’s sixth in blocks (18), have also been delivering solid performances.
"The two-week break before the third week was good for us," setter Wessel Keemink explained. "Our first week was decent, but on the second, not much worked for us. We've got to practice hard, build some confidence, and I hope we get into these matches with more confidence. We need to play as a team and hopefully get the results that we need."
Sitting at the bottom of the VNL standings, Serbia desperately need to score points this week to avoid relegation. One of the veterans in the team, opposite Drazen Luburić is their leading scorer, with 102 points. Middle blocker Aleksandar Nedeljković has scored 22 blocking points and ranks fourth in the VNL in the category. Fighting to stay in the VNL, head coach Gheorghe Crețu is set to bring setter Nikola Jovović and outside hitter Pavle Perić to the court this week.
"Our team struggled in the past two weeks, but there's always light at the end of the tunnel," Jovović remarked. "I hope that Pavle and I can help the team get some wins. We lost some tough matches at the end of sets, and our situation is now very serious, so we need to manage to be better in the last four matches. All four opponents here will be very strong, but we'll give our best and try something new to get the results."
