Honestly, it’s a minor thrill just to see this day come. I’ve been “gearing up” for World League for so damn long now that the actual beginning of the tournament was starting to feel like a theoretical rather than definite future happening. But here we are.
This is the second match of the day. Finland and Portugal played the first, and I did try to watch that one, but it was on too early in the day (aka I stayed up too late to be able to watch it) for me to give it my full attention. Finland won pretty handily, as anyone could have guessed. The final was (25-13, 29-27, 25-18).
This match, coming from Québec City, Québec, was definitely at a more comfortable time of day. Despite their team being known informally as the ‘Oranje,’ only the Dutch libero Gijs Jorna wore that colour — the others were in blue. Me and my fashion alerts, what can I say. The Canadian boys wore red, with libero Blair Bann in black. Both sides dressed only the one libero.
Friend of The Net Set Dustin Schneider started the match on serve for Canada. He got one ‘true’ point but on his second serve the Dutch setter Nimir Abdel-Aziz very skilfully played an overpass from the back row in midair, redirecting it over and through the defence for the kill and sideout. At 3-2, Canada middle blocker Steve Brinkman scored a couple of nice points in a row, executing a picture-perfect middle attack, and then finding the floor for an ace as he rotated back to serve. Pin hitter Gavin Schmitt matched this a little later after a couple of sideouts, getting the kill on the outside before an ace of his own. We reached a technical timeout (I believe) at 8-6 Canada. (I need to brush up on the rules for technical timeouts in international play)
After a couple of sideouts, it was again Schneider on serve, marking one ‘full’ rotation with Canada up 9-7. His serve went into the net, and after that sideout, Netherlands captain Rob Bontje‘s found the floor, knotting the set at 9-all. Bontje’s silver hair kind of set him apart in this crowd, but he’s actually only 32 years old. Must have Steve Martin Syndrome. Canada went up 2 again at one point with a big double block by Adam Simac and Gord Perrin, but the Dutch team quickly equalised. 15-14 was the first rally of any particular length, ending with a long hit from Canada captain Fred Winters to give the point and equaliser to the Dutch team. He got it right back on his next swing, off the block and out, to bring us to another timeout.
The Dutch setter got away with a pretty blatant carry on the first ball after the timeout, to tie the set once more at 16 on his dump shot. Winters’ serve on 18-17 yielded an overpass from the Dutch side, an opportunity that Schmitt didn’t let pass. Canada took the first 2-point lead in quite some time at 19-17, and the Dutch team took their first charged timeout. After a couple of sideouts, 20-18 on Canada’s serve was a highly bizarre play, ending with a kill for Thomas Koelewijn. The Canadians remained in position to be able to sideout to victory, and the back-to-back service errors by the Dutch on 21-20 and 22-21 sure didn’t hurt that proposition. 23-21 was an absolutely crazy rally, with both sides way out of system and venturing far and wide to track down their digs/passes. The point ended up going to the Canadians to give them set point, and the Dutch took their second charged timeout. They came very close to converting on serve, with a triple block up against the Dutch hit attempt, but the ball landed just out of bounds. No matter — the conversion easily happened on reception to give set one to Canada 25-22.
The errors piled up a little for the Dutch team as the set wore on, committing 11, as opposed to 5 for the Canadians (those figures are scoring errors of all types, be they hitting, service, or blocking). In a 3-point set, that was probably the difference right there.
The teams traded points for a stretch to begin set 2. It seemed like Schneider was stuck in the front row for ever over the course of some long rallies early on. He showed some nice hops to get some block touches, but no rejections. A double block by Bontje and Wytze Kooistra afforded the Dutch side the set’s first 2-point lead at 6-4. This held up to the technical timeout at 8-6. On 10-8, the Canadian service reception was a little dodgy, yielding — in essence — an overpass. It didn’t cross the net for a hungry Dutch middle to devour, but it did force a powerfully awkward set from Schneider, and the offence could not get in system. The Dutch took the point to go up three at 11-8, prompting Canada’s first charged timeout of the night.
On 13-11, the Canadians missed an opportunity to draw back a point on serve, as the Dutch middle attack came up with only a weird little airball, but the Canadians could not effectively set their offence in response. Another broken play occurred on 15-12 to put the Dutch side up four at the next technical timeout, and it started to look like tonight would not be a sweep. On the first rally after the timeout, Schmitt’s middle attack was dug for perhaps the first time all night, but the Canadians rallied (to coin a phrase) and got the point anyway with a kill on the outside. A double block led by Graham Vigrass drew them back within 2 at 16-14, one of their first points on serve in the second set. Jeroen Rauwerdink beat the triple block with a kill from the pipe to keep the Canadians from coming any closer. On 18-16, the Canadians went to a blocking sub, bringing in Louis-Pierre Mainville to replace the sure-handed (but diminutive) Schneider. The sound tactical move paid off, as after a couple of block touches on the Canadian side, the terminating Dutch hit flew long to bring the Canadians back within a point at 18-17. That prompted another Dutch timeout.
The Oranje (the Blauw?) got the sideout on the first rally after the timeout. I thought Schneider might sub back in, but Mainville remained in the match. On 19-18, a wide hit by Koelewijn brought the set even again for the first time in a while at 19-all. At 20-19, a bit of dodgy service reception from the Canadians led to an opportunity for the Dutch, but they failed to capitalise as their hit landed long. At 21-20, Schneider did come back into the match for the Canadians. The Dutch turned to a serving sub, Maarten van Garderen, but his one and only attempt went into the net. At 23-22, Bontje exited the match for another serving sub, Bas van Bemmelen. His serve led to a kill from the back-row that the Canadians thought was out long, but a touch was called. Canada called timeout facing set point at 24-22, but it was no use, as Rauwerdink put away the final point with a right-side kill to end set 2 same as set 1, 25-22 — only with the opposite side on top.
A service ace for Thijs ter Horst provided the first separation early in set 2, at 4-2. 5-4 on Canada’s serve was an….interesting….rally. The ball crossed the net at good 4 or 5 times, but each one was a roll shot that wouldn’t have made a splash if it landed in water. Smashes need not apply. The Dutch team eventually got the sideout to maintain their lead. Canada drew even for the first time at 7-all when Kooistra’s hit from the right side flew wide without hitting hands. The Blauw got their sideout ahead of the technical timeout, leading 8-7 on service as the teams had a chat. At 8-all, the officials continued not to care when the Dutch setter made another pretty ridiculous throw, going uncalled and landing for a kill. Adouble block by Rauwerdink and Koelewijn put them back up 2 at 11-9, and another service ace for Ter Horst made it 12-9 at Canada’s timeout.
Canada got it back to within a point at 14-13 and had a shot to draw even on the next rally. It was a long one, with multiple digs on each side, eventually ending with a kill for Kooistra. The Dutch team gave the point right back on a service error, and Canada had another shot on 15-14 to draw even as Schneider’s serve didn’t elicit a strong return from the Dutch side. The Canadians were able to set the offence, but Schmitt’s attack landed long, with no touch at the net called. There came another technical timeout at 16-14. Winters’ serve on 16-15 led to a pretty broken play from the Dutch side, as their setter was off the ball and the libero had to do the setting, but they still wound up getting the kill and sideout. The Dutch libero made a nice flying pancake on 17-15, but there was no one behind him to keep the ball alive for a second hit, giving Schmitt another kill. On 17-16, Schneider sacrificed his body a little try to track down a deflection off the dig. Sliding belly-first on the arena floor (which I have to imagine stings a little) he crashed into a courtside advertisement. Luckily, the thing was basically just a poster, but unluckily, Dustin didn’t quite reach the ball. The Dutch team extended their lead to 3 at 19-16 on a double block against Schmitt, prompting Canada’s last timeout.
At 19-17 on Canada’s serve, a net fault called on the Dutch side, followed by a let-serve ace from Schmitt made it all of a sudden a tied set again at 19’s. After the Dutch timeout, a double block on the right side made it 20-19 Canada, and then another on the left side on the next rally made it a 2-point advantage. This, very quickly, exhausted the second and final Dutch timeout. Finally, a service error from Schmitt got the Blauw their sideout, but you take that run every time. No question. Canada coach Glenn Hoag went back to his blocking-heavy formation at this point, reinserting Mainville for Schneider (leaving Olivier Faucher to do the setting). From 23-21, the Dutch drew even with another carry-throw-kill from their setter and a long hit on the right side from Schmitt. 23-all was a really long rally, with multiple opportunities from both sides to end it and get to set point. It was finally Kooistra who did, as a touch at the net was called prior to his hit flying wide.
Winters staved off the set point to send us to extras. On 24-all, the Dutch ran their middle attack to Bontje, who found the block and then the floor to give them another set point. The Canadians again staved it off, this time with Schmitt coming up with the kill. A Dutch hitting error gave the Canadians their first set point at 26-25, and another miscue from the Dutch converted it for them.
Just as in set 3, the Dutch attained early separation in set 4. But in contrast to the 3rd, the Canadians equalised almost immediately. In an otherwise pretty inherently even match, a serve to elicit an overpass by Schmitt, nailed home by Perrin on the left side, stands out as an important play. Another big play was Simac’s solo block against Ter Horst on the rally ending 6-all. Any time the blocker can win a 1-on-1, that’s big. After a few sideouts, it was 8-7 in favour of the Dutch at the first automatic timeout. Bontje and Abdel-Aziz came up with a left-side double block on the first rally after the timeout, and Kooistra’s ace made it very quickly a 3-point set, leading to Canada’s charged timeout. At 12-10, Canada let a golden opportunity slip through their fingers. The Dutch libero did an amazing job keeping a long ball in play, and Perrin’s attempt on the free ball (that just barely cleared the net) was a shank, going straight into the net.
Schmitt got the point back with an ace on 13-11, and a kill for the sideout on 14-12 shortly thereafter. It seemed like the Canadian offence became a little one-dimensional as the match wore on — so much Schmitt — but the big man did a terrific job of keeping that from mattering. A kill for Schmitt on an out-of-system set by Toontje Van Lankevelt brought the set even at 14’s, and Schmitt hugged-stroke-suplexed him in thanks. Following an attacking error on the left side by Vas Bemmelen, Canada took the lead again at 16-15. The Dutch team wanted hands to be called, but they got no such relief. On the first point after the subsequent timeout, the Dutch setter was finally whistled for a carry — on perhaps his least-obvious violation of the night.
At 17-16, Schneider won a joust against the Dutch middle blocker, and he was awfully pumped about that. You’d think he could get a little love from the crowd, but they didn’t have much of a reaction. 18-17 was a terrific rally that ended like a kick in the gut. The Canadian libero ventured far and wide to keep the play alive, only to have the Dutch setter throw (yes, throw….which is not supposed to be legal) the ball to the ground again. Still, the Canadians went out ahead again at 20-18 to prompt the Dutch team’s timeout.
The Dutch team got the kill and sideout on a close hands/no hands call at the net. Replays were inconclusive. But the Canadians maintained their sideout advantage. Mainville subbed back in for Schneider, blocking sub, at 21-20 on the Dutch team’s serve. The Dutch team almost got a very fortunate break on their serve at 23-22, as the let just craaaaawled over the net, but the Canadians kept it alive, and it was in fact Mainville who got the kill. The first Canadian match point was a service error, which rotated Mainville to the back row (and, accordingly, Schneider back into the match). Vas Bemmelen and Rauwerdink came up with a huge left-side double block to stave off match point #2, and it was extras once more in the 4th set. The Canadians reached match point again at 25-24, but again the Dutch team staved it off. A kill from the middle attack for Vigrass gave the Canadians their fourth match point, and the fourth time was the charm, as the Dutch hitting attempt landed wide.
Canada d. Netherlands (25-22, 22-25, 27-25, 27-25)
Good start to the tournament for Team Canada. These were two very evenly matched sides, as the linescore suggests. Kooistra led all scorers for the Dutch with 25 kills, while Schmitt led the Canadians with 21. And just from an ‘eyeball test’ way of looking at it, they were indisputably the respective ‘Man of the Match’ for their sides. I still say Abdel-Aziz was getting away with murder on his dump shots, but he actually had only 6 kills (felt like double that), so it didn’t likely make a tremendous difference.
The big difference in this match was scoring errors. The Dutch team had more kills in this match, 61 versus 49, but quite a bit more errors as well, 41 to 22 for the Canadians. Blocking and serving were basically a wash (miniscule advantages for the Dutch).
Same two teams tomorrow night.
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