Belgium were just too powerful for Finland once again
Kortrijk, Belgium, May 30, 2015 – Belgium beat Finland 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 28-26, 25-14) in the FIVB World League, in front of 2,500 Red Dragons fans in Kortrijk.
Having beaten the Finns twice on their own turf last weekend, the Belgians began confidently on home soil. In the first set, they ran into a early four-point lead, with Sam Deroo spiking strongly, and while both sides blocked well, it was the home side that stayed ahead, winning the set 25-18.
The Finns came back strong in the second set, however. The scoring of Olli-Pekka Ojansivu, including a fine ace, and far too many uncharacteristic Belgian errors, helped the Scandinavians to win the set 25-20. The third set was nervy, with both sides making mistakes, but this time the home side held on to win it, 26-24.
But Belgium, led by inspirational captain Deroo, really found their quality game in the fourth set. Finland tired and began to make service errors, and the Red Dragons shut out the match 3-1 with a 25-14 set win. Sam Deroo was the top scored in the match, getting 18 points. Urpo Sivula scored 13 for Finland. The sides meet again tomorrow. Follow the match text commentary
here.