Before the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship even began, the Netherlands faced a major setback: star hitter Nimir Abdel-Aziz announced a hiatus that ruled him out of the sport’s grandest tournament.
Still, the Joel Banks-mentored squad didn’t have to look far to fill the void.
Banking on its youth movement, the Netherlands turned to its rising stars to outlast Qatar in four sets, 25-18, 25-23, 26-28, 25-23, on Saturday evening at the SMART Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
“It’s different when he’s not here because he was the main leader of our group. Now, everyone has to step up and show they can play as well,” said up-and-coming spiker Bennie Junior Tuinstra, who tallied 15 points on 11 attacks, three aces, and one block against Qatar.
“I think we did a great job with that, and I can describe the group as very energetic and very motivated.”
With an average age of just 26.5 years, Tuinstra took pride in the team’s breakthrough as fellow young guns like 24-year-old outside hitter Tom Koops and Cornelis Van Der Ent combined forces to weather Qatar’s gritty stand.
“We have a group with a lot of young players, and this is their first summer of really high-level volleyball. But I think the group is adjusting very quickly. We have a lot of potential, and they are showing good things,” Tuinstra added.
The Dutch squad’s inexperience, however, showed in the third set when it squandered crucial match points, allowing Qatar to extend the match to a fourth frame.
What impressed Tuinstra most was how the youthful Netherlands side responded. Behind timely offensive firepower from Koops and Michiel Ahyi and disciplined execution, the team shut the door on Qatar’s reverse sweep attempt.
(C) Volleyball World
“After the third set, we started the fourth set with a lot of energy again. We fought for every ball, and that worked out for us. We kept our concentration in the fourth set, and that’s why we won. I’m very happy with that,” said Tuinstra, who plays for Bogdanka LUK Lublin in Poland’s PlusLiga.
“It’s always hard to lose a set, but this is volleyball — it’s a game of mistakes. Like I said, we just needed to keep our concentration in the fourth, and that was good.”
Looking ahead, Tuinstra emphasized the importance of blocking out outside noise and staying focused on improvement as the Netherlands sets its sights on an uphill climb toward World Championship glory.
After their morale-boosting win over Qatar, Tuinstra and the Netherlands will next face world No.21 Romania and No.1 Poland — the defending Volleyball Nations League champions — in pool play.
“I think if we keep our concentration and focus on our own game, not on the opponent, we can show great things. If we don’t forget that, we’ll be fine,” Tuinstra concluded.
#WATCH: Without star hitter Nimir Abdel-Aziz, Bennie Junior Tuinstra praised the young guns of the Netherlands for stepping up in their four-set win over Qatar 🏐🇳🇱
📹 @ErnestTuazon /Tiebreaker Times#MWCH2025 pic.twitter.com/wWSGNnM1iF
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) September 13, 2025
