The Netherlands during a game against Qatar in the FIVB Volleyball World Championship. –VOLLEYBALL WORLD
The Netherlands opened its FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship campaign with a gritty four-set win over Qatar, 25-18, 25-23, 26-28, 25-23, on Saturday at Araneta Coliseum.
SCHEDULE: 2025 FIVB Men’s World Championship in Manila
The Dutch nearly had a sweep in the bag, but Qatar forced a third-set win before the Netherlands regrouped to close out the match and begin its title bid on a high note.
“A lot of times, it was our own game. They were playing really well a lot of times but in the end, it was our mistakes that gave them the victory [in the third set],” Tom Koops said after dropping 17 points in the Netherlands win.
“We came from a lot of losses before this and to win a game with our own decent play shows progress.”
Helping Koops on offense were Michiel Ahyi and Bennie Junior Tuinstra, who scored 20 and 15 points, respectively.
Both teams were even at the net with nine blocks apiece, but the Dutch pulled away from the service line with nine aces compared to Qatar’s two.
Youssef Oughlaf led the Qataris with 17 points, while Ribeiro Renan and Nikola Vasic chipped in 11 each in the losing effort.
The Netherlands (1-0) seeks back-to-back wins in Group B against Romania on Monday.
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