Győr, Hungary, April 30, 2017.  Belgium are the last team that qualified to play in the men’s Volleyball tournament at the European Youth Olympic Festival to take place in July in the Hungarian city of Győr. At the very same Szechenyi Istvan University hall, where this tournament will be held, the Belgians claimed a 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-15) victory over Finland in the seventh place match of the 2017 CEV U19 Volleyball European Championship - Men on Sunday, to join the six top-placed #EuroVolleyU19M teams – the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland, Russia and Turkey, as well as hosts Hungary, in the EYOF line-up.

Finland vs. Belgium 1-3 (25-22, 20-25, 19-25, 15-25)

The first set was quite competitive with many frequent changes in the lead. However, after 17-17, Finland achieved a 6-1 run to break away, eventually closing the set at 25-22. After an early Belgian lead in the second set, again Finland managed to catch up on two separate occasions, but Belgium’s spiking and blocking were far too strong for anything more. Coach Mieke Moyaert’s boys stayed in control towards a 25-20 win, shaped up by Berre Peters with a successful back-row spike. In a rollercoaster third set, the Finns reduced their mistakes almost to a minimum, but that was counter-balanced by Belgium’s improved serving, blocking and hitting, as well as Jome Vandamme’s great effort. He contributed seven points towards the 25-19 win. In the fourth set, the Belgians were the dominant force on the court. Putting a lot of precision into their game they showed a great team effort on the way to the 25-15 close, with Berre Peters once again spiking from the back row for the last point. He became the best scorer of the match with 17 points. His teammate and captain Matthieu Vanneste added another 16. Oskari Keskinen topped the charts on Finland’s side with 15 points. 

Joona Väänänen, captain of Finland: "Today Belgium played better than we did. They made fewer mistakes. At the difficult points, they stayed more focused. The team is happy to be here."

Pertti Honkanen, coach of Finland: "Unfortunately, we have some injured players. I was in a difficult situation because health is the most important thing for me. My players did a great job throughout the tournament. We got what we came for."

Simon Plaskie, player of Belgium: "Today we played together as a team. We loved the game and we did everything we could do to beat Finland. I am very proud of my team. This tournament was a great experience for us."

Mieke Moyaert, coach of Belgium: "I am very happy. We deserved this success, because the team worked really hard. We played well against the strongest teams like Italy or Russia. I am proud of the boys and we are happy to come back for the European Youth Olympic Festival."


All matches of the tournament are scheduled for live streaming on LAOLA1.tv.

Engage with the U19 European Championship on social media by using the competition’s official hashtag #EuroVolleyU19M.

Click here for more information, including a detailed match schedule.