The Turkish national team continued its excellent performance in the Volleyball Nations League. Slobodan Kovac's team defeated Belgium with a decisive 3:0 (26:24, 26:24, 25:17) in their last match of the tournament in Gliwice (Poland) and climbed to sixth place in the provisional standings, displacing Bulgaria.
The match was even only in the first two sets. The Belgians, led by their star Ferre Reggers, were close to success twice, but the Turkish team showed more class in crucial moments and closed both sets with 26:24.
After falling behind 0:2, Belgium mentally collapsed in the third set. Turkey quickly took a 9:2 lead and did not let go of the initiative until the end, closing the match after a convincing 25:17.
The top scorer for the winners was Adis Lagumdzija with 23 points, while Mirza Lagumdzija added another 9. For Belgium, Ferre Reggers scored 22 points, but remained the only "Red Dragons" player with a double-digit tally.
| Statistic | Belgium | Turkey |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | 38 | 41 |
| Block | 4 | 11 |
| Ace | 6 | 1 |
| Points from opponent errors | 17 | 24 |
| Total points | 65 | 77 |
| Digs | 59 | 45 |
Turkey won the match mainly due to its huge superiority in blocking (11:4) and significantly more points coming from Belgian errors (24:17). Belgium compensated with more aces (6:1) and more digs, but this was not enough against the more effective play of the Turks. With this victory, Turkey accumulated 5 wins and 14 points, surpassing Bulgaria in set ratio and climbing to sixth place in the provisional standings. Bulgaria remains seventh, also with 5 wins and 14 points, but with a slightly weaker set ratio (1.200 against Turkey's 1.384). Belgium, on the other hand, finished the second week of the tournament in 13th position with 3 wins and 9 points. In the third week, the "Red Dragons" will play in Osaka (Japan), where they will face Cuba, Italy, Japan, and Canada. Captain Sam Deroo is expected to return to the squad then.
photo:volleyballworld.com
