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The Netherlands have secured the top place in Pool C with one more day of competition remaining in Tampere following their 3-1 victory over hosts Finland.

The score remained close up to 14-all in the first set, when Finland scored two attack points, thus forcing the Dutch team to take a time-out at 16-14. The Netherlands recovered thanks to excellent defence game, especially from setter Wessel Keemink. The set was tied at 20-20, when Joonas Jokela served an ace. At 23-all, the Dutch controlled a hard Finnish hit and managed to score from counter attack. The set eventually went the way of the Netherlands (25-23) and as expected, Nimir was hard to stop and tallied up 11 points.

Finland claimed an early 6-3 lead in the second set, but The Netherlands tied with a block, a spike and an ace. Outside hitter Niko Suihkonen entered the court with a bang, Finland did well in defence and The Netherlands had to take a time-out at 11-9. Finland continued to thrive (21-17) with the home audience cheering loudly. The second Dutch time-out did not help and Urpo Sivula ended the set 25-21 with a hard spike from the right side.

The Dutch took control in the third set with 4-1. Finland tied the score at 7-7 with Suihkonen’s spike before taking a 13-10 lead when Antti Ronkainen blocked setter Keemink’s second touch attack. Suihkonen continued to excel and forced The Netherlands on a time-out at 18-13. The Netherlands, however, got closer and closer at 22-19, until Finland took a time-out. The Finnish team missed their two set points when leading 24-22, and finally the Dutch had the upper hand (27-25) with Nimir as the finisher.

The fourth set started evenly, until The Netherlands took a three-point lead (9-6) with Bennie Tuinstra’s ace, a block and an opponent error. The hosts had to take a time-out, which brought new energy and they tied the match 12-12. The Dutch took back a three-point lead at 20-17, but the Finns attempted a late comeback, with the score moving to 19- 20. Nimir was the king of the court (35 points) in the last rallies and triggered the Dutch celebrations with an ace (25-20). Middle blocker Fabian Plak (12 points) showed impressive attacks throughout the match. Firepower from Urpo Sivula (24 points) and Antti Ronkainen (18 points) was not enough to turn the game in favour of the hosts.