The Netherlands triumph in the Low Countries derby and keep the Finals in sight

A victory in the latest edition of the Low Countries derby, held on Thursday, in Apeldoorn, during the third week of the Volleyball Nations League 2025, has kept the Netherlands alive in the race for a spot in the tournament’s Finals.

Counting on the support of their home fans at the Omnisport Stadium, the Dutch took down regional rivals Belgium 3-1 (26-24, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22) and improved their situation in the VNL standings, maintaining their chances of ending the Preliminary Phase among the top eight teams and booking their tickets to Łódź, where the Finals will be held from July 23-27.

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With the victory and the three points earned against the Belgians, the Netherlands moved three spots up in the standings, going from 12^th to ninth with five victories and 13 points. They closed the gap to seventh-placed Germany (five wins, 16 points) and eighth-placed the United States (five wins, 14 points), which both still play on Thursday. Belgium are 14^th, with three victories and eight points.

The good work of setter Sarah van Aalen was instrumental in the Dutch victory as she helped each of the team’s five starting hitters end the match with double digits in scoring – team captain Nika Daalderop led them with 18 points, followed by fellow outside hitter Helena Kok (14), opposite Elles Dambrink (12) and middle blockers Britte Stuut (12) and Suus Gerritsen (11).

“I’m very happy that we got to play for this crowd in this city that feels like home to me,” said Gerritsen, who played for Apeldoorn’s Draisma Dynamo from 2020 to 2025. “We had some difficulties in the third set, but I’m happy that we picked it back up in set four. That was a great job from our team, but Belgium also fought hard and played an amazing game.”

Aged 17, outside hitter Liese Verhelst led the Belgian offense with a team-high 17 points (16 kills, one block) in her first VNL start. Opposite Pauline Martin tallied 12 (ten kills, two aces), while middle blockers Nathalie Lemmens and Anna Koulberg added ten each.

Earlier on Thursday in Apeldoorn, reigning VNL and Olympic champions Italy topped reigning world champions Serbia, winning 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-20).

Volleyball Nations League 2025: full schedule and results

On Friday, another two matches will be played in the Dutch city, with Belgium and Serbia facing off at 17:00 local time (15:00 GMT) and Czechia meeting Türkiye at 20:30 (18:30 GMT).

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