Netherlands eyeing bounce-back tournament at EuroVolley 2021

The Dutch are ready to bounce back. After missing out on a chance to play for a medal in the last tournament, The Netherlands is looking to punch their way back to title contention as the brand new edition of the CEV EuroVolley Women opens next week.

The Dutch were last seen dejected as they got walloped by a strong Turkish side in the quarterfinals of the EuroVolley 2019. Finishing fifth in the final standings, it was the first time in three editions the European powerhouse was knocked out of medal contention. Prior to this season, The Netherlands appeared in back-to-back gold medal games in 2015 and 2017 but lost to Russia and Serbia respectively.

The country is no stranger to winning in the continental championship. Appearing 28 times out of the event’s 31 editions, The Netherlands has finished on the podium for six times, winning its first championship in 1995, a silver medal in 1991, 2009, 2015, 2017, while  settling for bronze in 1985. Three of these medal finishes came when the country hosted the competition in 1985, 1995, and 2015.

Dealing with major changes this year, the 2007 FIVB World Grand Prix champions are still hopeful to end the new EuroVolley tournament with a chip. The first major change that occurred was the appointment of Avital Selinger, replacing Italian Giovanni Caprara, as the team’s new head coach. Selinger, a former national team setter, took his first test at the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Nations League, where his squad finished seventh with a 9-6 win-loss slate.

The Orange also had to deal with the exit of multi-awarded opposite Lonneke Sloetjes, who decided to retire from the sport earlier this year to focus on the “new chapters” of her life. The 30-year old veteran led the country to a fourth-place finish at the Rio 2016 Olympics, where she was selected to the Dream Team as the Best Opposite. The Dutch failed to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the summer of 2019 as well as in January of 2020 at the CEV event held in Apeldoorn.

Without Sloetjes, the Netherlands will be a different squad. However, the ingredients for a potential title contender still appear to be in place. On paper, the squad still looks solid, with Anne Buijs, Britt Bongaerts, Kirsten Knip, Eline Timmerman, and Celeste Plak at the helm.

Outside hitter Nika Daalderop, who plays for Igor Gorgonzala Novara in the Italian league, is expected to make an impact after a spectacular performance at the 2021 VNL, finishing as the tournament’s 7th best scorer with 242 points and 7th best attacker with a 39.10% efficiency.

The Netherlands will tussle with Finland, Ukraine, Sweden, host Romania, and reigning silver medalist Turkey in Pool D. It will begin its quest for a bounce-back season against Ukraine on August 19 in Cluj-Napoca.