Women u20 2021

Belgium shut out Rwanda to take on Thailand for 13th place

Rwanda finish the U20 World Championship as 15th in the final standings

Published 07:45, 17 Jul 2021

Co-hosts Belgium achieved their first on-court victory at the FIVB Volleyball U20 Women’s World Championship and will battle against Thailand for the 13th place in Kortrijk on Sunday. With the support of the home fans at the Lange Munte in Kortrijk, they mastered a clean-slate victory over Rwanda. The African side will finish the World Championship in the 15th place, above Puerto Rico, who had to withdraw before the start of the competition.

Belgium were the better team on the court throughout the match and clearly outplayed Rwanda in all three sets. In offence, the home team hammered 35 kills, against 14 from the opponents. The blockers also contributed substantially, with eight stuffs, against just two from Rwanda. Belgium managed two score 10 times directly from the serving line, while the African side aced five times.

Middle blocker Anna Koulberg smashed the winner for the 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-13) victory and for an individual match total of 10 points. The only two player who scored more points than her were Belgium’s outside hitters Anouck Van Bouwel with 13 points and top scorer Bente Deckers with 15. The latter produced four of her team’s aces.

“It was our first win and it’s very exciting,” Deckers said. “We played like a team. It was a team effort and it was nothing special that I was the top scorer of the match.”