Almere, Netherlands, 13 June, 2015 – Once again inspired by the brilliant offensive play of Kay Van Dijk and Dick Kooy, the Netherlands beat Finland 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-19) as the two sides met in the FIVB World League on Sunday night.
Finland shook off the disappointment of Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to the Dutch, taking the first set in fine style. Urpo Sivula and Olli-Pekka Ojansivu scored heavily, while Dick Kooy, who had dominated yesterday for Holland, didn’t quite get going. The Finns prevailed 25-22.
But Holland found their form again in the second set, with Kay Van Dijk and Dick Kooy reasserting their dominance. Two late aces from Van Dijk helped them seal the set 25-20. And it was the same story in the third set, as Finnish errors and the twin Dutch attack gave them a 25-14 win.
With Finland fading fast, some superb group blocking, and the individual brilliance of Kooy and Van Dijk once again was too much in set four. The Netherlands won it 25-19, to take the tie 3-1 and clinch their fifth win in six World League matches this season.
Kooy and Van Dijk were the top scorers for the Netherlands with 21 points each, while Urpo Sivula and Olli-Pekka Ojansivu managed 18 apiece for the Finns. Read the match text commentary
here