The Netherlands and Belgium make it through #EuroVolleyU18M qualifier in Sigulda

On Sunday in the Latvian city of Sigulda, the Netherlands and Belgium both secured qualification for the Final Round of this year’s #EuroVolleyU18M while Ukraine defeated Latvia in five sets in the match for third place. In the decisive match with first place at stake, the Netherlands beat Belgium 3-2 (27-29, 22-25, 25-17, 25-19, 17-15). Their early 2-0 lead was already enough for the young Red Dragons from Belgium to punch their ticket to the Final Round. 

In the first set, the teams exchanged a three-point lead, but Belgium prevailed at the end, winning 29-27 after Thijmen Johannes Petrus de Heij hit the ball out of bounds. In the second set, the Netherlands took a 10-6 lead after a Joep Rauwoens attack error, but Belgium equalised at 13-13 and finished stronger, winning 25-22 after an Evan Dubru attack, thereby securing qualification for the Final Round. As Belgium began rotating players, the Netherlands led throughout the third set, winning 25-17 after a Joa Valkema attack. The fourth set also went in favour of the Netherlands, who secured it after a successful attack by Aiden Senna Horstink. The Netherlands maintained the upper hand in the fifth set as well, claiming it 17-15 after a Jayson Hansen spike. 

For the winners, Valkema scored 23 points, including three blocks, while Horstink (four blocks) and Hansen (three aces) each added 17 points. For Belgium, Robbe Devriese scored 23 points and Dubru added 22. Horstink and Dubru were named the best players of the match.

“I do not know if we were better today. If the result is 3-2, the teams are evenly matched and you need a bit of luck. We won the final set by two points, so I do not think we were that much better,” said Netherlands head coach Matt van Wezel after the match. “Maybe we played more bravely at the end, from the heart, and I think we were slightly luckier.”

“I think the outcome of the tournament is great. When we arrived here, we hoped to win one match, maybe two if things went well, but we couldn’t even dream of three wins. So the boys played excellently. In the first round, they lost all five matches. And now winning three in a row is much more than we expected,” said the Dutch coach. 

In the second match, hosts Latvia lost to Ukraine 2-3 (26-24, 26-24, 22-25, 27-29, 7-15).

At the start of the match, Ukraine held a slight lead, but the hosts scored five points in a row to take a 15-11 advantage and later extended it to 21-16 after a Yurii Koval attack error. Ukraine managed to recover, but the hosts won the final two rallies of the set, taking it 26-24 after a positional error by Ukraine on the last point. In the second set, Ukraine erased a five-point deficit (2-7) by scoring five consecutive points and took their first lead at 19-18 after an Andrii Shyshchak ace. However, Latvia again finished stronger, winning the last three rallies and the set 26-24.

Ukraine started the third set better, taking a 7-3 lead with a block. Latvia gradually equalised (9-9), and the score remained close, but Ukraine finished stronger, winning 25-22 after a triple block. The fourth set was closely contested, with Latvia holding the biggest lead (13-10), but Ukraine edged the end of the set, winning 29-27 after an Antonii Kravchenko tip. In the fifth set, Ukraine took control early and secured a 15-7 victory after a block by Arsen Khvedchak and Koval.

For Ukraine, Kravchenko and Koval each scored 18 points, with Koval recording seven blocks, while Khvedchak added 17 and Shyshchak finished with 10. The match’s top scorer was Latvia’s Aksels Marks Džeriņš with 24 points. Renārs Lasmanis scored 16, Ernests Pastars added 15, and Ņikita Livča had 10 points, including four blocks. Džeriņš and Kravchenko were named the best players for their teams.

After three matches, the Netherlands finished first in the pool with three wins and eight points, followed by Belgium, Ukraine, and Latvia. 

“Today the main thing was to show character. Obviously, this match didn’t decide anything for us anymore. In addition, two of our team leaders were injured in yesterday’s game. As a result, we played with what was nominally our third and fourth outside hitters. We proved that we can compete well with Ukraine even with a second-line lineup. If we had won the end of the fourth set, it could have been different, but overall I think we delivered a good performance. We improved from match to match, and personally I really liked today’s performance,” said Latvia U18 head coach Raimonds Liniņš.

“I’m satisfied that almost no ball fell on our side of the court without an attempt to keep it in play. We ran, fought, dove, and showed that we are a team despite the gaps in our lineup. We fought until the very last ball, even in the fifth set where things didn’t go our way. Ukraine were better because they improved their reception, while we struggled in that element. That allowed them to play closer to the net, and when they were up against our quick attacks, we didn’t have many options.”

“Since we haven’t qualified for the finals, the tournament overall has to be evaluated negatively, because the goal was not achieved. We dreamed we could do it, but our group was one of the strongest. Both Belgium and the Netherlands are volleyball powerhouses. We tried to do our best in every match, and overall, after the last game, I am satisfied. With the resources we had, we performed above average and at times showed good Volleyball,” added the Latvia coach.

“As in every match here, we wanted to show the game we prepared for. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the first or the last match – every game is important for this team. We want to improve with every match, so we try to perform at our best each time,” said Ukraine head coach Andriy Levchenko. “There were ups and downs on both sides, as both teams made many errors. That significantly influenced the course of the match, with big runs and comebacks. The fact that we managed to turn the match around after being down 0-2 is positive and inspiring for our team. I think this will be a good lesson for our players - that you can win if you fight until the end.”

“There were strong teams in the tournament, an excellent hall, and a good hotel. Of course, I’m not satisfied with the results, because we definitely could have done better. This time luck was not on our side. Despite that, we had a good and useful tournament, even though we had injury issues. Overall, I liked the tournament, apart from the result,” added Levchenko.

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