TeamNL Men take first step towards European League Final

The Netherlands claimed victory in the opening match of the CEV Volleyball European League semi-final, defeating Israel 3-1 (25-23, 28-30, 25-23, 25-19). Joel Banks’ side now carries a strong advantage into Sunday’s decisive second leg, which will also be played in Doetinchem.  

Strong finish secures opening set
Head coach Joel Banks once again opted for his trusted starting line-up featuring Tom Koops, Joris Berkhout, Fabian Plak, Sil Meijs, Yannick Bak, Siebe Korenblek and libero Jeffrey Klok. Plak opened the scoring, with both teams staying close throughout the early stages. Behind the serving of captain Berkhout, the Netherlands created a small lead (11-9), but several unforced errors allowed Israel to turn the score around to 15-13. Banks immediately called a timeout to settle his team. The Dutch fought back impressively, levelling at 19-19 before an exciting finish followed. On the crucial points, the Netherlands kept their composure, with a decisive kill block by Korenblek sealing the opening set 25-23.

Israel levels the match
Banks kept faith with the same line-up in the second set, which again remained evenly balanced for long periods. After the Netherlands edged ahead 13-11, Israel quickly responded, and neither team managed to create separation heading into the closing stages. Banks introduced Twan Wiltenburg and Saimen Hage late in the set, but after both substitutes left the court, the Dutch found themselves trailing 23-21. The Netherlands saved multiple Israeli set points and forced an extended finish, but eventually Israel edged the set 30-28 to level the match.

Dutch regain the advantage
The Netherlands made an excellent start to the third set, with Wiltenburg entering the starting line-up. Koops’ serving immediately helped the Dutch race into a 4-0 lead, although Israel quickly erased the deficit. Trailing 7-6, Banks brought Rik van Solkema onto the court for Bak. The substitution proved decisive as Van Solkema helped stabilise the Dutch attack. With the score tied at 13-13, Banks called another timeout to refocus his side. The Netherlands gradually built a 23-20 advantage before surviving another tense finish. Van Solkema scored the winning point to give the Dutch a 2-1 lead in sets.

Comfortable finish
Banks rewarded Van Solkema by leaving him on court for the fourth set. Just as in the previous sets, both teams stayed close early on, but midway through the set the Netherlands created the decisive gap. The Dutch extended their lead to 18-14 before reaching the decisive phase at 20-16. This time there was no comeback from Israel as the TeamNL Men calmly closed out the match, securing a well-deserved 25-19 set win and a 3-1 victory overall.

Van Solkema, who made a major impact after coming on in the third set, was pleased with his contribution:

Captain Joris Berkhout was satisfied with the result but also saw room for improvement. “The first three sets were decided by small details, but in the fourth set we executed our game plan well and dealt much better with the conditions in the arena.”

Decisive match on Sunday
Thanks to Saturday’s victory, the Netherlands head into Sunday’s second leg in an excellent position. The two teams meet again in Doetinchem, where a place in the CEV Volleyball European League Final will be decided. The TeamNL Men will however have to win the second match as well to secure qualification to the final where they would play the winners of the other semi-final featuring Finland and Denmark. A win for Israel by any score would imply that a Golden Set is required to determine the eventual winners of this tie.