VOLLEYBALL – The Dutch volleyball players failed to qualify for the final of the European Championship. Laura Dijkema’s team from Beilen impressed against reigning world champion Serbia in the semi-final, but eventually had to bow 3-1 (25-21 15-25 25-22 25-21).
The Orange lost the first set to the Serbian women, but then recovered nicely in Brussels. The Dutch women took full initiative in the second set. Serbia was no longer involved. The team took the win 25-15.
In the third set, the Orange continued to play strongly, but Serbia took the set in the final phase. In the fourth set, the Netherlands seemed to extend the match. The Dutch ran out to 16-12, but could not hold on to that margin. The team of Giovanni Guidetti, former national coach of Orange, came back to 16-16. The Netherlands showed resilience and still took the lead again. But Serbia made the difference in the final phase and finished it 25-21.
The Netherlands will compete for the bronze medal against Italy, which lost 3-2 to Turkey in the other semi-final.
The Dutch finished fourth two years ago at the previous European Championship. The goal of the volleyball players was now again to reach at least the semi-final.