Abdelaziz setts the ball for Koelewijn
Dutch coach Benne began the match with his familiar base (Nimir Abdelaziz, Niels Klapwijk, Jeroen Rauwerdink, Jelte Maan, Wytze Kooistra, Thomas Koelewijn and Gijs Jorna).
“We struggled to catch the rhythm, we were tired after having returned from Poland (where “Oranje” participated with Poland, Russia and Germany in the Jerzy Hubert Wagner Memorial). We were under considerable pressure and our service was poor”, said the Dutch coach on the difficult start of his team. “We worked hard, but it was not enough. We failed in the first two sets (18-25, 20-25).”
Thijs ter Horst came in during the second set instead of Maan. With Ter Horst in the field “Oranje” managed to overcome France in third set to (25-23).
In the fourth set the Netherlands again was slightly better than the guest side (25-23).
An exciting fifth set followed, with the Netherlands winning 23-21 ending the volleyball show in Zwolle.
“We are looking forward for these three games especially because everything we do is all about next week,” concluded Benne.
The three games against France are going be the final showdown of the “Oranje” for the European Championships that begin on September 20 in Denmark.
Today, two teams will face each other again in the “Arcus” sports center in Wijchen, and in the last match on Friday the host will be “IISPA” in Almelo.
See the profiles of the Netherlands and France.
Also, check out National Teams.
