The European team made a big difference in direct serving points, scoring nine aces against just two from their Asian opponents. The Dutch also prevailed in attack by 57-52 in spike kills. Their opposite Michiel Ahyi led the way with a match-high 20 points. He authored three aces and three kill blocks. Outside hitter Tom Koops delivered the match winner in the fourth set with a successful swing to finish with 17 points, including two aces. His cross-court teammate Bennie Tuinstra, who celebrates his 25th birthday on the day of the match, fired another three aces towards a 15-point tally. Middle blocker Fabian Plak registered an impressive 90% success rate in attack, raised three kill blocks and put away an ace to sign off with a total of 13 points.
“I think this service pressure was very important, because their centers like to play very fast, so if we could get the ball off the net, they could not play their best anymore,” birthday boy Tuinstra told VBTV. “I think we gave a lot of energy to each other. We spoke about this before the game – if things went wrong, we should give more energy and keep fighting. That’s what we did and, luckily, we pulled it off today.”
The Qatari squad matched the Netherlands in number of kill blocks with nine each, and made fewer unforced errors that the opponents, 26-29. Their experienced opposite Youssef Oughlaf was the team’s most prolific scorer with 17 points. Well-seasoned outside hitters Ribeiro Renan and Nikola Vasic added 11 points apiece.