Netherlands (NED) vs. Germany (GER) men - Pool 1 - Preliminary Phase #4918359

With Nimir in an uncharacteristic quiet day, Van Garderen led the Dutch offense

The Netherlands had a different hero in their second victory in the Volleyball Nations League 2023 as outside hitter Maarten Van Garderen stepped up and helped the team emerge victorious on the European Derby against Germany on Friday, in Ottawa, Canada.

With a solid performance from him, the Dutch produced a 3-0 (25-20, 33-31, 25-21) victory over the Germans in the opening match of the fourth day of Pool 1 in the Canadian capital at the TD Place to get to six points in the standings (two wins, one loss) after back-to-back triumphs.

  • Watch Volleyball Nations League 2023 live on VBTV

The Dutch, who had in star opposite Nimir Abdel-Aziz their main scorer against the United States and Cuba, producing 24 and 22 points respectively, saw Van Garderen carry the team’s offensive load against the Germans, producing a match-high 21 points, with 15 kills, two aces and four blocks.

The Dutch captain, the 31-year-old Nimir was limited to just three points in the first set, but found his rhythm afterward and ended up adding 14 (ten kills, three aces, one block) in his team’s second triumph in the VNL 2023.

“We knew it was going to be a fight because these are two teams that play at a very similar level and every time we play them it’s like that,” the opposite remarked. “We didn’t always show our best volleyball, but we fought the entire time and I’m happy for the win and for the team. Winning the second set was big for us, it gave us a lot of confidence. I didn’t play very well today in the first two sets, I made some mistakes, and I’m glad some of our other players did a really good job today. To me, it doesn’t matter who scores the points as long as we win matches. It was a team victory and honestly, winning a match like this makes me happier than when I score a lot of points.”

Netherlands (NED) vs. Germany (GER) men - Pool 1 - Preliminary Phase #4918365

Nimir had a difficult start against the German block, but later found his form

The Germans, who have now dropped their first two matches in the VNL 2023, had two players reaching double digits in scoring in outside hitter Moritz Reichert, who produced 12 points (ten kills, two blocks), and middle blocker Anton Brehme, who tallied 11 (eight kills, three blocks).

One of the keys to the Dutch victory was serving better than the Germans and getting eight aces to none from their opponents. The winners were also better in blocks (12 to eight) and got a couple more points from opponent errors (27 to 25). Despite the upset, Germany had 39 kills to the Netherlands’ 36.

**Volleyball Nations League 2023: full schedule and results**

Germany will be back on the court on Saturday, at 13:00 local time (17:00 UTC), to face reigning world champions Italy. The Netherlands will complete their match schedule in Ottawa on Sunday, at 11:00 local time (15:00 UTC), against Argentina.

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