21/02/2021 19:10
Knack ROESELARE celebrate sixth straight Belgian Cup triumph
News from the National Federations
Antwerp, Belgium, February 21, 2021. Despite all COVID-19 restrictions in place, the Royal Belgian Volleyball Federation and Volley Vlaanderen managed to organise the annual Cup Finals in Antwerp, unfortunately this time without the traditional 10,000-plus audience.
In the men’s final, it was ‘business as usual’, since Knack ROESELARE lifted the trophy for the sixth year in a row. Yet, Hendrik Tuerlinckx and his blue army had to overcome fierce opposition from eternal rival VC Greenyard MAASEIK, with the match ending 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19).
In the first two sets, Knack ROESELARE took an early lead of five points, proving that they were better in coping with the stress of a winner-takes-all match. MAASEIK fought back until 18-17 in the first set and even levelled the score at 23-23 in the second, but finally lost both.
With team captain Jelte Maan in as a substitute, MAASEIK eventually turned the tide in the third set but Knack ROESELARE regrouped. With his 14 points, youngster Mathijs Desmet, already honoured as MVP in the recent 3-0 Champions League win against Leo Shoes MODENA, secured the fourth set in favour of his team. Yet, the top scorer of the game was Jelte Maan with 15, even though he played only for a little more than two sets.
Asterix Avo BEVEREN ends two-year drought
Multiple trophy winner Asterix Avo BEVEREN added a 16th cup to its tally, after a two-year drought, by beating VC OUDEGEM 3-0 (27-25, 25-12, 25-20) in the women’s final. After a close battle in the first set, in which they had to save a set point, Yellow Tigers Manon Stragier (16 points), Marlies Janssens (13), and Silke Van Avermaet (12) sailed to a convincing 3-0 victory over their challengers.
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