Belgium enters its first match of the Volleyball Nations League against Bulgaria after a very beneficial test match against world champion Italy. In the control match in Verona, the "Red Dragons" lost 2:3 (25:20, 22:25, 25:22, 23:25, 6:15), but for long periods of the game, they demonstrated that they possess enough quality to be a dangerous opponent early in the tournament.

Particularly striking is the fact that the Belgians won two of the first three sets against Italy's rejuvenated squad and were very close to victory before the hosts' dramatic comeback.

Who played for Belgium?

Head coach Emanuele Zanini started the match with the following lineup:

Setter: Valkiers
Opposite: Reggers
Outside Hitters: Lennert Van Elsen, Deroo
Middle Blockers: Fafchamps, Perrin
Libero: Langstogt

From the bench, D'Heer, who is Alex Nikolov's teammate at Lube, Roti, and Vervimp also joined the game.

Against Belgium, Italy started with Paolo Porro (4 pts), Bovolenta (6), Luca Porro (20), Bottolo (14), Sanguinetti (11), Matti (4), and libero Pace. During the match, Rychlicki (9), Gargiulo (5), Boninfante, Orioli, and Stafforini also entered the game, while Held, Sani, Comparoni, and Mosca remained out of the squad.

Top-scoring Belgian volleyball players

According to individual statistics, Belgium had four players with a double-digit score:

1. Basil Deroo – 18 points

2. Ferre Reggers – 15 points

3. Pierre Perrin – 12 points

4. Lennert Van Elsen – 10 points

Additional points were added by:

• Roti – 6

• Fafchamps – 5

• Valkiers - 2

• D'Heer - 2

It is Dermaux and Reggers who stand out as the two main scorers that the Bulgarian block and defense must limit. Together, they scored 33 of Belgium's total 70 points from the players in the squad.
The friendly match showed that Belgium remains a team with very dangerous outside hitters and good organization in attack. Dermaux, Reggers, Perin, and Van Elsen form the backbone of the squad, and most of Belgium's play revolves around them.
Further weight is added to the Belgians' performance by their victory over Olympic champion France during their preparation. In a friendly match in Beveren, the "Red Dragons" won 3:1 (25:18, 26:24, 19:25, 25:19), with Ferre Reggers again playing a key role with 22 points and Basil Dermaux with 60% attack efficiency. Thus, Belgium showed that its good performance against Italy was not accidental and that it enters the VNL in very good form.

photos:federvolley.it