Belgium and the Netherlands make it two wins in a row in Sigulda

On Saturday, the Netherlands and Belgium secured their second wins in as many matches they have contested at the #EuroVolleyU18M qualifier in Sigulda, as they beat Ukraine and hosts Latvia, respectively. They will play each other on Sunday with first place at stake and with it a direct ticket to the Final Round as well. 

In the first match of the day, the Netherlands edged Ukraine 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21). The first set was evenly contested up to a tie at 8-8, after which the Netherlands took the lead and won it 25-22 following a quick attack by Timo Sebastiaan Wouda. In the second set, the Netherlands held a four to five-point advantage for a long time, but Ukraine caught up at 21-21 and secured the set 25-23 after an attack by Andrii Nakoskin. Ukraine carried this momentum into the early stages of the third set, but the Netherlands regained the lead and, although they could not maintain their earlier advantage (22-14), they prevented their opponents from equalising, winning 25-23 after a point scored by Thijmen Johannes Petrus de Heij. Ukraine led for most of the fourth set and went ahead 13-9 after an ace by Yaroslav Kraizhdan. However, the Netherlands scored five consecutive points to take a 21-18 lead, and the final point of the match came after a strong serve by Joa Valkema, with De Heij finishing the rally at the net for 25-21.

For the winners, Jayson Hansen scored 19 points, De Heij added 18, Wouda had 15 (a third of them from the service line), and Valkema contributed 12, including three aces. For Ukraine, Nakoskin scored 18 points, Antonii Kravchenko added 17 (including three blocks), Volodymyr Filipovskyi had 16, and Yurii Koval scored 12, with three coming from blocks. Nakoskin and De Heij were named the best players of the match for Ukraine and the Netherlands, respectively.

In the second match, hosts Latvia lost 0-3 (23-25, 22-25, 25-27) to Belgium in a closely fought contest, especially in the closing stages of each set. Belgium scored the first points of the match, but Latvia took control and led 14-8 after an ace by Tomass Silavs. Belgium came back to tie at 20-20 and won the set 25-23 on their second set point, with Evan Dubru scoring.

Latvia started the second set even more determinedly, going up 5-0 after a solo block by Martins Skudra against Robbe Devriese. Their lead grew to six points (15-9), but Belgium responded with a five-point run (18-17) and went on to win the set 25-22 after an attack by Devriese.

The third set was the most evenly contested, with both teams taking turns in the lead. Latvia reached their biggest advantage at 21-17 following a Belgian attacking error. Belgium equalised at 22-22 and secured their second win of the tournament with a 27-25 victory on their second match point after an attack by Dubru.

For Latvia, Aksels Marks Dzerins scored 19 points for the second match in a row, while Tomass Silavs added 17. For Belgium, Devriese led with 16 points, including four aces, while Joppe Rauwoens and Dubru each scored 10 points, with Dubru collecting three from the service line. Dubru and Latvian setter Kristers Elksnis were named the best players of the match.

“Today we played much better and more confidently than yesterday. We slightly improved our reception, but once again lost in the closing stages of the sets. In the first two sets we had a six-point lead, and those are sets we have to finish with a win. If we cannot do that, we cannot beat opponents like this. Belgium had to work hard - we could have beaten them, but we did not,” said Latvia U18 head coach Raimonds Liniņš.

“In the closing stages, Belgium won with aggressiveness and self-confidence. At some point we may have lost belief, played more cautiously, and still made mistakes. We needed to maintain aggressive play, maybe even take more risks.”

“Nothing has changed in Ukraine’s game since our test match before the tournament. Everything is known, but since tomorrow’s match does not mean much for us, we will most likely try to rest one of our leaders, Tomass Silavs, who has a strained abdominal muscle. We will fight with the lineup we have,” the Latvian coach said about their final opponent.

“We knew that the opponent was strong, but we did everything we could on the court, and that’s a good result,” said Belgium’s top scorer Robbe Devriese. “Qualification for the final tournament is not yet certain, but if we play well tomorrow, we will make it there.”

The Final Round will take place from July 7 to 18, 2026, in the Italian cities of Porto San Giorgio and Cisterna di Latina.

Live streaming of all Pool D matches is available here.