Belgium and Netherlands outlast Spain and Romania in tough five-setters in Baku
News
In the opening match of the second CEV Trendyol EuroVolley 2026 competition day, Belgium and Spain delivered the first five-set battle of the tournament. In a Pool C encounter in Baku on Saturday, the two sides sides showed both potential and desire to excel, but at the end of this rollercoaster, only Belgium was able to celebrate victorious. The Netherlands and Romania followed suit in the second match of the day, with the Dutch triumphant in the tie-breaker.
In a one-sided first set, Belgium completely dominated on the court. Owning the net with both their offense and blocking, they opened up a wide gap and closed it off at 25-15 with an off-the-net back-row pipe shot by outside hitter and captain Britt Herbots for the winning point.
Spearheaded by opposite Julia De Paula Viana and with some changes to the starting seven, Spain greatly improved their offensive performance and took control of the scoreboard throughout the second set. They broke away with a wide lead, and in the end, middle blocker Lucia Varela Gomez delivered Spain’s first blocking point of the match and last point of the set for 25-18 to level the game. Riding the momentum, Spain quickly managed to pile up a four-point advantage in set three. Excellent blocking effort brought Belgium back into the set and they even stepped in front at 18-17. Their opponents reacted swiftly to regain control with a 21-18 lead, but finally, it was decided by the smallest of margins, 25-23, on a Herbots spike out of bounds.
Belgium weren’t ready to let the match slip away, so they made sure to retake the initiative in the fourth set. Bringing back their swinging success from the first set, they ran off with a huge lead, while Herbots was nailing one point after another. Finally, opposite Pauline Martin hammered the 25-17 set winner to prompt a tie-breaker. The Belgians stormed the fifth set on a 3-0 run and never looked back. Herbots and Martin put in their dues in attack and their team prevailed to celebrate a solid 15-8 win.
Britt Herbots and Julia De Paula Viana shared the top-scorer honors of the match with 25 points each, with Pauline Martin, coming in a close third with 23. Lucia Varela Gomez impressed with three aces and three kill blocks towards a 19-point total.
Britt Herbots“We knew that it was going to be a difficult game. We know Spain very well. They are very good team. They started serving very well and defending every ball. And I know my team very well – we started to get frustrated and for two sets we ran into a lot of difficulties. But I am very happy that for the fourth and the fifth sets we could get back to the way we usually play.”
Outside hitter and captain of Belgium
Julia De Paula Viana“It was a really tough match. I think we showed a good level and could have surprised Belgium. They are a tough team, but the win could have gone either way.”
Opposite of Spain
Romania entered the match against the bronze medalists of the previous European Championship fearlessly. Led by outside hitter and captain Rodica Buterez and opposite Ioana Baciu, they stayed in the lead through most of the first set and even opened a three-point gap at 17-14 and 18-15. In the money time after 21-20, however, the Netherlands made a home run with five in a row to win the set. Outside Marrit Jasper delivered set point with a kill block and converted it to a 25-21 close with a powerful swing. With the momentum on their side, the Dutch quickly broke away with a 7-3 lead in the second set, but with Baciu on fire in attack, Romania not only came back, but even took a 20-18 lead. The fierce battle on the court continued and the set was pushed to overtime. The Netherlands wasted two set points. Romania also wasted one, but on the second, a Dutch attack out of bounds finished the set at 28-26 Romania’s way to level the match.
The third set was no contest, as the Netherlands completely dominated on the court, especially thanks to an excellent blocking effort and a solid all-round contribution from opposite Elles Dambrink. Outside hitter Laura Jansen delivered the 25-15 set winner with an unsavable kill down the line. The Romanians refused to fold. With outside Sorina Miklaus now among the starters, they regained some of their confidence in attack, while the Dutch lost some of their concentration and made too many unforced errors. Their middle blocker Indy Baijens’s efficiency in offense did not help much and the match was balanced at 2-2 after the set went 25-22 Romania’s way.
It was the Netherlands’ turn to take control in the fifth set. They did so with zero unforced errors throughout the set, which resulted in a solid advantage for them. Marrit Jasper spiked successfully to bring in match point at 14-7. The Romanians denied it twice, but on the third Dutch attempt to close the game, Dambrink did it with a successful swing for 15-9.
Elles Dambrink contributed a match-high total of 24 points, including two aces and a kill block. Baijens excelled in the middle with 15 spike kills at a 63% success rate in attack, four kill blocks and an ace towards a 20-point total. Ioana Baciu and Rodica Buterez led Romania with 19 and 18 points, respectively.
Rodica Buterez“We had a really hard time to adapt to the speed that they were playing with, because they were playing really fast and it was really difficult for us. But at some point, we started playing better in defense and that helped us.”
Outside hitter and captain of Romania
Britt Bongaerts“First of all, I think the Romanian team played very well. Congratulations to them for that! I think, on our side, we made way too many mistakes. But it was the first game, so I think we still have some room and time to improve and we can do it fast for the next game.”
Setter and captain of the Netherlands
Sunday’s third competition day in Pool C will feature Portugal against Belgium at 15:30 local time, and Spain against Azerbajan at 18:30.