At Roeselare they had not dreamed of the 3-0 win, ex-coach Dominique Baeyens had not been so optimistic beforehand either.
“I thought of 3-2 or 3-1 after an exciting match, at best. But 3-0: it has become a memorable evening for Roeselare and Belgian volleyball,” says Baeyens, yesterday’s co-commentator in Roeselare.
“I spoke to some players: they had already seen in training that Piacenza was not so concentrated and then you get this.”
However, Piacenza had recently won the Italian Cup. “In that Final Four they were from another planet, but apparently that was a miraculous weekend and they couldn’t repeat that.”
Roeselare’s tactical plan had been prepared down to the last detail. “The coaching staff had done their homework very well. They had analyzed more than 10 matches and you could see that.”
Roeselare’s defense was good, as was Stijn D’Hulst’s division of play. And the Belgian leader also proved more efficient with the storage pressure.
“Piacenza hit an awful lot of aces in the cup. Roeselare can always do a little more at home, but you have to keep making tactical choices and you can’t go blindly on enthusiasm.”
On Wednesday, Roeselare will go to Italy with a 3-0 win. Thanks to that victory, it forces a golden set even with a 3-0 or 3-1.
“Roeselare just has to go for it. They play volleyball really well and they have to play with confidence.”
“There will be fewer chances, but you have to make them doubt. The Italians have the qualities to do it, but now Roeselare has to go for the final.”
