Belgium outlast Spain in first five-setter of EuroVolley
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, both sides showed both potential and desire to excel, but t the end of this rollercoaster, only Belgium was able to celebrate victorious.
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 21-17 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
More information coming up here after the match…
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.