SEVA at Fixit Youth Tournament in Kalmhout, Belgium 2026
The U15 SEVA girls participated in the International Youth Tournament in Kalmhout, Belgium in May 2026 for the first time. In preparation for the Interregional Championships, the goal of the U15s was clear: team building, developing routines in a team consisting of players from six clubs in the South East as well as gaining international experience against strong youth opposition.
We started in th
e U17 Challenger Cup. Here, we played on day one in a strong group with the Regional team of Utrecht (NL), VC Lommel (BE) and the second team of the hosts Kalmhout (BE).
We started our first match against Kalmhout. After a bit of uncertainty and time to adjust to the higher level, we took our first time out at 6-12. With reaffirmed believe in our skills and a clear match plan we returned to the court – taking back the game point by point. Particularly our strong service, paired with a disciplined block-defense and good transition into attack, we pushed passed our opponents and finished 25-17 for our first won set abroad. In the second set, our routines worked like a charm, while our service and defense left no chance to our opponents. With a 25-8 we took our first victory of the day.
The next match was against the strong side of VC Lommel. We took the momentum of our first victory into this game and kept up our solid play. Particularly our sideout worked well despite the high block and an open match developed. We maintained a small lead throughout the entire set and managed to push it past the line in the end, winning 25-23 in the first set. In the second set, Lommel started stronger with a series of aces, which put us behind 0-5 quickly. We fought well to get back into our rhythm, but could not fully make up for the initial points anymore in the end. Consequently, the set went 19-25 to Lommel.
The last match of the day was against the regional team of Utrecht. Equipped with countless technically strong and very tall players, Utrecht was by far the strongest opposition. We went off to a good start, pulling ahead quickly at 13-8. Utrecht however didn’t give in and showed all their strength and expertise, attacking effectively across all positions. Our lead decreased until 17-17, when a series of strong services and block actions by Utrecht gave them the victory at 18-25. The second set was very much in light of the first. In a match of comparable strength, both teams edged head to head forward. Again, a little bit of bad luck and inconsistency against superior attacks made the difference, as Utrecht took the second set with 19-25.
With that, we made it into the second group for day two, playing Kalmhout B, the regional team of Brabant (NL) and Sporting Club Briard (FR) for 5th place.
On day two we played the regional team of Brabant first. After the first tiredness was shaken off, we took the lead quickly and kept it up to the end, finishing 25-18. The second set became a little more exciting as two nights of little sleep put pressure on our concentration. However, in the essential moments we found our momentum again, finishing 25-23 for our second victory of the tournament.
In our next match we went again against the second team of host Kalmhout. Our opponents clearly had to make up for the defeat of the first day and an open match developed between both sides. In the end it was our attacks that turned the tide, winning set one with 25-16 and the second with 25-23.
In our last match against the French side from Briard we decided to show once more all our strength and skill. Highly motivated we went into the match and took the initiative from the start. Particularly our superior attacking power, paired with a high number of aces kept us in the winning seat, as we crossed the finish line at 25-17 and 25-13 for our fourth victory.
Overall a very successful tournament for South East and a great experience for all players, as we grew together as a team, tried our various variations for play and learned to play against strong international opposition. After several photos with new found friends, we made our way back to the UK – ready for the Interregional Championships.
Lukas Dorer
