Haasrode Leuven advances to European volleyball competition after win in Hel van Menen: “We have our sights set on third place”

Haasrode Leuven won for the fourth time in six games.

Volleyball Lotto Volley League: Menen – Haasrode Leuven 0-3

Haasrode Leuven won for the fourth time in six games. — © Bart Borgerhoff

Leuven

In a dominant display, Haasrode Leuven solidly secured fourth place in the Champion Play-offs by beating Menen 0-3. During the regular season, Menen was still the black beast for VHL, but the roles were reversed on Saturday evening.

The Hell of Menen. It is probably the least fun move in Liga A, but the people of Leuven have an exceptional vibe and are increasingly appearing authoritarian. That confident impression was immediately confirmed in the first set, with one youngster as the driving force: the only 20-year-old Sietse De Bruyn was unstoppable, not for the last time, and made the difference both blocking and attacking. From 2-5 it went to 12-17 and captain Hendrik Tuerlinckx made it 21-25.

In set two, center Daan De Saedeleer replaced the slightly injured Filip Madjunkov. VHL exerted more and more control from the service line and deployed a strong block defense, as evidenced by both the four aces and four kill blocks. Menen was played from pillar to post – 14-22 became 17-25 – even though the home team was not helped by the absence of Marin Dukic. The strong reception team was able to secure a top transfer to the Italian Cuneo in the nick of time.

Praise from the coach

The outcome in set three is easy to guess, because Menen seems to be longing for the end of the competition with four matchdays to go. Sietse De Bruyn once again highlighted his excellent performance as top scorer and man of the match and VHL finished the match without one extra drop of sweat: 21-25. “I am very satisfied in various areas, but I especially want to highlight Sietse's performance,” said coach Kris Eyckmans, who has known the left-handed corner player for several years from the Topsportschool in Vilvoorde.

© Well

“Last season he was searching and at the beginning of this season he started quite reluctantly, but since the turn of the year he has been very stable, both during matches and in training. In any case, he has made enormous progress and that makes me very happy.”

Individually, there have been several standouts in recent weeks, which also means that Haasrode Leuven as a team is doing well. “Once we took the lead, we had a lot of control. Receptionally we were stable and we also continued our strong serving line. What is the value of this victory? Great, because it not only gives us quasi certainty about fourth place, but also peace of mind about the fact that we will soon no longer have to fight for that fifth European ticket. What's more, we can now aim for third place with an open mind,” concludes a satisfied Eyckmans.

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