Belgium pulled through with an emotional five-set win over European rivals Bulgaria, 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 20-25, 17-15, and bagged their third win of the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Nations League, Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
This is Belgium’s second consecutive win in the Quezon City pool for a 3-5 win-loss record, giving them some reprieve in the race to the final round later in the year in Ankara, Turkey.
Belgium needed to complete the comeback in the fifth set as Bulgaria took the early lead. The Belgians had the chance to finish the match with match points, and eventually, after Bulgaria knotted it at 15, they bagged the win off back-to-back attacks from Britt Herbots and Martine Pauline.
Herbots who paced the team with 26 points, 23 coming from attacks, and three on blocks, said, “I think we started really well in the first two sets and then we were a little bit more in difficulty. We also lost a very important player, so the win is also for her.
“The fifth set was really tough as we were down by four or five points. We came back and I’m very happy and very proud,” the league’s current top scorer added.
Middle blocker Silke Van Avermaet had a solid outing at the net with 13 markers on nine spikes, three blocks, and a service ace, while Marlies Janssens added 10 points on eight attacks, one block, and one ace.
It was a tight contest in the opening frame between the two European sides, but Belgium got the separation they needed to take the set advantage with Britt Herbots getting seven points early.
The Yellow Tigers lost captain Celine Van Gestel to injury early in the set, when the outside hitter landed awkwardly on the approach. And despite losing their skipper and an offensive option, Belgium still pulled through with the second-set win for a huge 2-0 advantage.
Bulgaria, though, had other plans.
The Eastern European side leaned on their net defense to stifle Belgium’s points of attack, producing five blocks in the third frame that consolidated their early lead. Bulgaria extended the match by 25-20.
Sensing momentum, the Ivan Petrov-mentored side used a balanced attack, scoring 16 points on attacks to eventually force a fifth and deciding set also by 25-20.
Bulgaria, on the other hand, slipped to 2-6.
Maria Yardonova finished with 19 points to lead Bulgaria, 17 coming from attacks and two on blocks. Nasya Dimitrova was huge at the net with 14 markers on a game-high nine blocks and five spikes.
Belgium will take on reigning champions USA (6-1) next on June 29 at 8 p.m. in Calgary, Canada. Meanwhile, Bulgaria will look to bounce back as they host Dominican Republic (2-5) in Sofia on June 28 at 8 p.m.
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