The Red Dragons lost their second match in the Volleyball Nations League against host nation Brazil. In an atmospheric Brasília, Belgium fought back strongly after a difficult opening set and deservedly took the second set, but over the full match Brazil proved just a little too strong. The home team won 1-3. The set scores were 19-25, 25-23, 15-25 and 20-25.

For this match, national coach Emanuele Zanini once again had to make adjustments to his team. Dermaux was not fit enough to play, which meant Reggers started again at opposite. Rotty was also part of the starting seven, together with D’Hulst, Van Elsen, Fafchamps, Perin and libero Lantsoght.

Brazil started the match as the favourite and immediately lived up to that role. The home team quickly took a 3-6 lead and extended that gap further. Belgium tried to play a lot through the middle compartment and also found some nice solutions there, but Brazil remained particularly efficient in attack. At 10-14, Zanini called his players to the sideline, but the Red Dragons could not slow down the Brazilian attacking machine. Brazil extended the lead to 12-18 and eventually comfortably won the first set 19-25.

In the second set, there was a strong Belgian reaction. The Red Dragons immediately took the better start and created a first small gap at 4-2. They were able to maintain that lead throughout the entire set. Via 14-11, 17-14 and 22-18, Belgium kept Brazil at a distance. At 24-20, Belgium earned four set points. Brazil came back to 24-23, but Reggers eventually finished it off strongly. With 25-23, the Red Dragons deservedly levelled the score.

In set three, Brazil took command again. The error count was too high for Belgium to be able to make a claim for the set win and the home team once again played at a higher level. The Red Dragons were chasing throughout the entire set via 5-7, 7-11, 10-15, 11-18 and 12-20. Brazil pushed through and clearly won the third set 15-25.

In the fourth set too, the Red Dragons started strongly. Belgium immediately moved ahead to 6-4, but Brazil quickly took over and turned the score around to 7-10. The Belgians kept hanging on and came close again via 10-12, 12-14 and 16-18, but a few mistakes gave Brazil breathing room again. The home team moved ahead to 16-20 and did not give that lead away anymore. Brazil won the fourth set 20-25 and therefore also the match.

Afterwards, Rotty mainly saw a lot of learning moments for a young Belgian team. “We had to adapt quickly because of the physical situation in the team, but I think we did that quite well. Brazil are playing here with a strong team and we knew we had to be one hundred percent throughout the whole match to be able to compete. At certain moments, we also reached that level. For us, matches like this are very valuable. We do not often play in circumstances like this and against an opponent like this. This is an opportunity to learn, to grow as a team and to take steps towards the future.”

National coach Emanuele Zanini also took positive things from the match, despite the defeat. “We are of course not satisfied with the result, but today we had to manage many situations. There are physical points of attention and some players are coming from a period in which they played little or not at all. In a match like this against an experienced top nation like Brazil, we learn a lot. We have a young team and this kind of match is a big lesson for us. At the same time, we have to distribute the energy over the full tournament and not put everything into one match. There are many positive things to take with us, but also many points to adjust.”

For the Red Dragons, the match therefore ends without any points gained, but with a solid basis to continue building on in their first campaign in the Volleyball Nations League. Belgium showed character, deservedly won a set against the host nation and once again proved that in this VNL it can gain valuable experience against the absolute world top.

Played for Belgium: Reggers, D’Hulst, Van Elsen, Rotty, Fafchamps, Perin and Lantsoght.
Came in: Fransen, Baetens, Plaskie, Valkiers and D’Heer.