Netherlands NT 2022

    Quote from Hassan Kadem

    I was having a hard time reading #2's jersey because her hair was covering her name. I don't think I've noticed her before but she's definitely something. Big sharp swings, big energy too.

    She's mine, you can't have her :lol:

    VNL is over for the Dutch so let's do a short analysis of the team. In short: there's lot's of work to do before the WCh. The goal is to reach quarter finals there, but with the current form that's gonna be hard. Excluding the very first match against China, the first two weeks of VNL were weak. Towards the end it got better, and they even ended up at the 11th place. One more win and they would have been in the final 8. So if only they won against Bulgaria or Serbia or Dominican Republic which were all 3-2 games... The final 8 would have been nice to gain experience under more pressure before WCh.


    The big highlight for me was the match against Japan that they won with 3-2. It really showed what actually is possible. The match against Belgium and Canada also left a positive impression to me. After losing the first set, the team kept fighting for the win and tried to adjust some things to win. While in the first weeks they would choke.


    Setter

    Britt Bongaerts: she is the 1st choice nowadays but didn't impress me this year. Seems like her development stopped and did not reach the level I expected her to have after a season in Italy. However still a good setter and great deal by Stuttgart, especially because her connection with Timmerman is very good. Also love her spirit on court.

    Sarah van Aalen: didn't play enough to have a real opinion. But the last games in Bundesliga impressed me and she has for sure potential to be the future #1 setter in the NT.

    Laura Dijkema: didn't play much and only as substitute. Considering her club season ended in February already I think she did well. She matured as a setter and has a stable level. I expect her to leave NT after WCh.


    Opposite

    Celeste Plak: had big ups and low downs this VNL. The game against Canada she was on fire and fired up, other games she had like 2 points after the first set and gave me the impression she couldn't care less about it. Her attacking approach still seems weird to me. She would like to play OH, but in the one game she tried it was... horrible. Should stick to OPP. Also because she's the best (least worse) option there and other OH's are better.

    Elles Dambrink: don't really know what to say. She was last years revelation but the Dutch league didn't do her good. Girl is still young, but likely not the Dutch Boskovic or Egonu.


    Opposite position is the main problem in this team. Marieke van der Mark and Iris Scholten are not better options than above two. Grothues should seriously be considered as passing OPP now.


    Middle Blockers

    Eline Timmerman and Juliet Lohuis: the best for NT available MB's right now. Both with a very solid and consistent performance which the team can build on. Both good blockers and good serves as well.

    Indy Baijens: faster than the other two, but she is unlucky that they're performing so well.

    Demi Korevaar: didn't play so no opinion.


    I was very critical about Polder in the past, but she deserves to have a real chance again. She had an amazing season in France and is going to Italy now. She could be the perfect 4th MB to complete the roster.


    Outside Hitters

    Anne Buijs: the best OH right now. Many people (including myself) criticized her reception and rightfully so, but it isn't as bad as we believe. A quick look at the stats page of VNL shows she is among the top of OH's with over 50% success rate. Side note is that she was targeted the most by far of all players, with 16,12 per match on average. Besides all of this, her attack is more than enough to compensate for her reception / the other OH and libero covering more court.

    Fleur Savelkoel: a late bloomer who is doing very well. Showed herself in the friendly games before VNL and continued to be good in VNL. A living example of players coming volleyball smart with age and experience. Can be shaky in reception sometimes, but has good blocking skills considering her height.

    Marrit Jasper: just so so on everything.

    Jolien Knollema: good prospect who could from a great duo with Nika in the future.

    Nika Daalderop: didn't play due to injury. But I expect she will be good in the world championships. Last time she missed it because of injury so I really hope this time everything goes well. A key player for success there.


    Libero

    Myrthe Schoot: as I wrote earlier, a season in the Dutch league was a very bad choice in terms of volleyball. Level gap is enormous and it showed. Especially the first two weeks were way below her standard. Third week was better, but if she doesn't improve, we're gonna have another big problem at WCh.

    Florien Reesink: better than I expected whenever she entered the court. She had some playing time halfway VNL as defensive libero to replace Schoot and did well.


    Coach - Avital Selinger

    I'm speechless.

    In the first post of this thread I predicted the WCh roster.


    S: Dijkema, Bongaerts

    OH: Buijs, Daalderop, Grothues, M. Jasper

    MB: De Kruijf, Belien, Lohuis, Timmerman

    OPP: Plak, Dambrink

    L: Schoot, Knip


    After VNL I think (not hope) it will be like this


    S: Dijkema, Bongaerts

    OH: Buijs, Daalderop, Savelkoel, Jasper

    MB: Lohuis, Timmerman, Baijens, Korevaar

    OPP: Plak, Dambrink

    L: Schoot, Knip

    I'm quite disappointed about VNL to be honest. Not necessarily the result of finishing 11th, but especially the level of play they showed. VNL last year was a surprise and eventually was a boost to finish 4th at ECH! Luckily last week they showed a better level, so they should keep that in mind. For me the biggest reason was the lack of Daalderop during whole VNL. She simply (with a big distance from the rest) is our best player. Hope her presence at WCH will have a good impact on the level of play:)


    Setter

    Unfortunately Bongaerts also disappointed me... Her technique has never been the best, but she could make up for it with her speed and good distribution. Sometimes during this VNL the location of her sets were painful to watch, even on a easy ball. On the other hand, I think she is our best option and should be starting setter during WCH. Match against Japan is a prove of that, because her distribution was great and involved everyone in attack. Also her connection with the middles is a joy to watch!

    Both van Aalen en Dijkema deserved more chances during VNL. Still I think WCH comes to early for van Aalen. Dijkema should be the second setter during WCH with her experience. This could be useful during tough moments!


    Opposite

    Sparsely we saw the old Plak, but unfortunately she is too unstable most of the time. Her timing is still off... I wonder if it has to do with her connection with Bongaerts, so I would have liked to see her playing more with Dijkema. Maybe that would work better?

    Dambrink was the most disappointing:( I don't have high hopes for improvement, because she hasn't announced a transfer so I expect her to stay in Dutch league next season. She needs to play against a better block an defense to develop and become more versatile in her attack.


    Outside Hitter

    Buijs did a good job in attack! Her inside attack with Bongaerts especially worked well. Stats maybe said she received well. I still think she made too many direct reception errors... Also with Daalderop next to her during WCH she needs to take big responsibility in serve reception, because Daalderop isn't the best receiver either.

    Savelkoel was a nice surprise! She will be a useful player on the bench during WCH when one of Buijs or Daalderop doesn't work well. On the other hand, I think she makes too many amateurish mistakes. Under pressure she can make unnecessary mistakes in attack and can be sloppy in defense. I guess this has to do with her her inexperience.

    Unlike many others, I wasn't disappointed about the level M. Jasper. Every time she started a match, she played a good first set! Smart in attack and some excellent defensive actions! Her problem is that opponents read her attack after the first set, so she doesn't score many points anymore. Still I think her spot should be locked for WCH, because her stability in reception and defense is needed from the bench.

    IMO Knollema isn't ready for WCH.


    Middle Blocker

    Eline Timmerman is best middle blocker playing for Dutch NT. Good block and attack. I think when she plays with more confidence and has less "respect" for her opponents, she could even play better! Lohuis surprised me during VNL, especially her attack became better! Middle blocker position is our best position and I think they should be involved as much as possible in attack by the setter:)Baijens deserved more chances, because IMO she is a better middle blocker than Lohuis. Unfortunately she is too unstable, so I think that's the reason why Selinger chooses Lohuis.

    I'm sorry, but Korevaar is useless to me. She doesn't make any impact. Hope Polder will get a chance, otherwise I would only take 3 middle blockers to WCH.


    Libero

    Already mentioned Schoot didn't play at her best this VNL. Big shame, because last summer I think she showed the highest level of her career! Especially the degree of responsibility she should take in reception should be better during WCH. I'm curious what's up with Knip:/ She trained whole time with NT, but didn't play any match. Hope she will be back for WCH, because she is a more reliable substitution for Schoot than Reesink.


    Joker

    After listening to their Podcast, I have little hope that Grothues will return for WCH:D I would use her as receiving opposite, considering the level of Plak and Dambrink. Also it could be realy useful in serve receive with Buijs and Daalderop as outside hitter duo. In Greek league Grothues also showed her attack is still decent. Even libero could be an option for me, because her reception is most stable of all Dutch players! Although I think Selinger will use Grothues as outside hitter when she returns for WCH. Than she will take the role of Jasper as substitution in the backrow to stabilize reception.

    I've never been a fan of Dijkema because of her boring game style (she reminds me of Zivkovic) however I would prefer her boring game to Bongaerts' hectic game any day. Considering how inexperienced this new Dutch team is, I would put Dijkema in starting six to lead the girls. Also her defense is better than Bongaerts


    It is interesting that although two best Dutch MBs retired from NT, MB position is still the least problematic position for Dutch NT. Timmerman is developing very well and showing a balanced performance at both blocking and attacking. Lohuis is a limited player but I think she has been playing at her best capacity throughout this VNL. She also has a very good serve that gave Dutchies good series whenever she was serving. Indeed, I was expecting Baijens to take over starting position but probably Selinger values experience and consistency more than 'potential', which makes sense at this stage.


    Plak is chaos and that's what she brings to the team. With defensive skills of a giraffe, she creates a hole in defense line of the team. Dambrink got everyone excited last year but playing in Dutch League wasn't a smart move for her. She could have kept improving if she would have played in German league last season. I also agree that Groutheus-Nika-Buijs would be the best lineup for wings with Jasper and Savelkoel as backup players


    Knip is missed but god knows in which shape she is now (considering how much Schoot regressed in a year)


    Overall, they achieved a ranking more than expected from them. However I still think their quarter finals chance is slim unless they improve their game drastically in front of home crowd

    Quote from serdar

    Plak is chaos and that's what she brings to the team. With defensive skills of a giraffe

    Oh man. I agree she may look like a giraffe doing it but she gets balls. That's what counts

    She endured a lot of injuries throughout her career but she had a good run:flower:


    Do you know if she has any plans on coaching? will she still be active in the volleyball scene?

    Quote from 777

    She endured a lot of injuries throughout her career but she had a good run:flower:


    Do you know if she has any plans on coaching? will she still be active in the volleyball scene?

    Yes she will continue to play for her club Panathinaikos in Greece this next season. After that I don't know what her plans are, and she doesn't know herself either. They recently talked about that in their podcast. I am pretty sure it won't be in the volleyball scene

    An extra episode of their podcast about her decision (in Dutch)

    - The WCh made her think about her decision a lot, but in the end it isn't worth it to give up one more free summer for only the world championships.

    - She is gonna miss the other girls a lot, but she feels at peace about it.

    - Hightlight years are the 2015-2018 era when the team was among the best in the world.



    https://nos.nl/artikel/2439072…ds-een-punt-achter-oranje (autotranslate works)

    For 'only' world championship ? This is second most important tournament of this sport. And it is at her homesoil. It is interesting that many dutch players weren't interested in playing in front of home crowd. They wouldn't be a medal contender for sure but at least they could make it to quarter finals if Groutheus, De kruijf and Belien would have played. There are some good dutch MBs but there's not an option like Groutheus, she could have been a great even as a libero considering Schoot's bad shape

    Quote from serdar

    For 'only' world championship ? This is second most important tournament of this sport. And it is at her homesoil. It is interesting that many dutch players weren't interested in playing in front of home crowd. They wouldn't be a medal contender for sure but at least they could make it to quarter finals if Groutheus, De kruijf and Belien would have played. There are some good dutch MBs but there's not an option like Groutheus, she could have been a great even as a libero considering Schoot's bad shape

    I also find it hard to understand that they are not taking the opportunity to play for homecrowd one last time after so many years.

    However, from their perspective I can also get it. Maret said for example that she can't do it physically anymore. Her body simply can't handle to play 12 months a year anymore after all those years.

    She would play as 3rd or 4th OH probably, what's in it for her except that it is in the Netherlands? At 33 years old she wants to enjoy life more, and I totally can imagine..


    Side note: if the volleyball calendar wasn't so bad I think all four (De Kruijf, Belien, Grothues and even Sloetjes), would have played this tournament.

    Quote from VolleyOrange

    Side note: if the volleyball calendar wasn't so bad I think all four (De Kruijf, Belien, Grothues and even Sloetjes), would have played this tournament.

    what do you mean exactly? They could easily say that they only want to play during WCh and I'm sure nobody would be opposing to that. I don't think Selinger would force them to play in VNL or other tournaments if they would wish to play in only WCh

    Quote from VolleyOrange

    - The WCh made her think about her decision a lot, but in the end it isn't worth it to give up one more free summer for only the world championships.

    lol That's how athletes' career looks like. You need to give up on something to play WCH/Olympic Games or any other competition.

    Quote from serdar

    what do you mean exactly? They could easily say that they only want to play during WCh and I'm sure nobody would be opposing to that. I don't think Selinger would force them to play in VNL or other tournaments if they would wish to play in only WCh

    I think it is impossible to only show up at important tournaments, it is a team sport after all. Let alone the practical diffuculties it would give such as a less developed connection between setter/attacker.


    What I meant is the packed volleyball agenda in which athletes have to play 12 months a year. It is heavily and openly criticized recently by many male and female players. If the volleyball calendar doesn't allow you to have some free time in a year (like in any other sport / normal working life) you need to take that time yourself, that is what the players are doing now. If I remember correctly the FIVB and continental federations are working on this issue together with the athletes commission. Of course there are other reasons as well, not just this issue