Dutch volleyball players also lost their last World Cup match in their country. The already eliminated national coach Avital Selinger lost in three sets to Japan.
Japan, ranked sixth in the world, won each set by a rather narrow margin: 25-23, 25-23, 25-21. In the Netherlands, ranked 11th in the world, Anne Boijs took first place with fifteen points, followed by Celeste Black (thirteen points) and Nika Dalderup (twelve points).
Before the start of the match with Japan, the Netherlands already had no prospect of a place in the quarter-finals. Prior to that, Selinger’s team had to finish the round of four in the second group stage, but the Netherlands finished sixth.
Italy, Brazil, Japan and China qualified in the Netherlands group. In the other group, defending champions Serbia, America, Turkey and Poland joined the quarter-finals.
Four years ago, volleyball players finished fourth in the previous World Cup, after losing to China in the consolation final. Since then, quite a few experienced players have ended their international careers, as a result of which the Netherlands started the World Cup with a very small team.
The World Cup continues in the Netherlands until October 15 and now continues with the quarter-finals. Two quarter-final matches will be played at Omnisport in Apeldoorn. The other two matches will be played in Gliwice, Poland. From the semi-finals, everything will play in Apeldoorn.
