Tallinn, Estonia, June 22, 2019. With his famous last name - his sister Celeste is a highly regarded member of the Dutch women's national team - he naturally draws the attention of the people. But he's far more than the 'brother of', he's a respected member of the 'Lange Mannen', earning his spot based on merits. He started the season recovering at home from a stress fracture in his tibia, which prevented him from playing in the World Championship last year. During the second half of the club season, he played for SAAREMAA VC, giving him a taste of the Volleyball crazy atmosphere in Estonia.

His year has been different than what he hoped for, following the surgery he had to undergo after a stress fracture was discovered in his tibia. Instead of going off to Italy to play for VBC Mondovì, he had te recover at home in Tuitjenhorn, where his parents live. “I had to keep my leg elevated for a month", the 21-year-old mentioned on Friday. "I started doing weight training and kept in touch with the national team's physician Rob Vesters. So I stayed with my mom and dad in the town that I grew up in.”

He was cleared for jumping and playing volleyball in November of 2018, so he travelled to Mondovì. He practiced with them for one and a half months, but wasn't granted a spot. So he re-evaluated and chose the Estonian club of SAAREMAA VC instead. “I heard some good stories about the club, two Estonian teammates told me how professional things were there. Volleyball is a big deal in Estonia. At home matches there are always around 800 people present. The atmosphere is awesome, you really get the feeling of being appreciated. Even for away matches, which can require up to five hours of travel, one to two hundred people would attend.”

“The level of Volleyball is Estonia is quite high,” Plak said. "Maybe not to be compared to Italy, but they still know how to play the game.” His team were runners-up in the Baltic League, losing to Bigbank TARTU in a close five-set-match.

The island of Saaremaa is a very nice place to live, lots of sights, but it might not be the place to be for a 21-year-old guy. “I played a lot of games during the winter time. I like to play Fortnite with my friends, which gave me a chance to keep in touch with them as well. I also called family and friends regularly, to just talk about what is going on in our lives. My teammates and I would go out, but I was on my own also. I knew this upfront, so it was not a surprise, I knew what I was getting into.”

He and his sister Celeste, who is a valued member of the Dutch women's national team, also talk from time to time on the phone during the season. “We check each other's progress and matches, but it's not like we call every day on the phone to ask how we have played. When we meet at home we talk about it, but it's not like Volleyball is the only topic discussed in the Plak household.”

When hearing his last name, most people ask him if he's the brother of Celeste. “I get that, she has accomplished a lot with her team. At first I sometimes felt annoyed when someone brought it up, because I am working very hard to make the team and build a career. And still people see you as the 'brother of'. But it's okay now, I get asked the question less these days and I'm asked more about my own accomplishments.”

Fabian and his team faced Estonia in the bronze medal match and won 3-0. On the other side of the net he met SAAREMAA teammate Rauno Tamme.