Groningen, Netherlands, June 19, 2015 - Netherlands took a 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-23) vicory over Portugal with the two opening sets going comfortably in their hands before the visitors managed to establish a fierce resistance in the final set.
The first set started tight but at the first technical timeout it was Portugal who recorded an 8-6 advantage after a great block on Kay van Dijk. The hosts recovered soon and with an ace form Dick Kooy and some good actions from Kay van Dijk went up at 14-12. The later stage of the set saw them extending their lead and winning 25-18 on an erratic serve from Portugal.
Portugal made great run at the beginning of the second set going up 7-5 but the Netherlands quickly found their form and erased the deficit to race 8-7 ahead. The hosts seem to have the same level of determination as in the first set and continued to controll the game eventually claiming the second set 25-21.
Set three started off fairly even and neither side was able to build a lead - until Thomas Koelewijn put a great block on the Portugues to lift the Netherlands 8-6 up. As Dick Kooy added a point from an ace Portugal were forced to call the timeout but still were not able to level the score up. They fought back in the late stage of the set taking the 18-17 lead but Netherlands regained the advantage and finished it off with 25-23.
To see the match gallery, read the full match live commentary and post-match comments, visit the match page.