Maret Balkestein-Grothues, ''née'' Maret Grothues (, born 16 September 1988) is a Dutch

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player who plays as a wing spiker. She is a member of the

Netherlands women's national volleyball team ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Nether ...

, and is the current team captain.FIVB Profile
/ref> On 6 May 2021 she signed for the Greek powerhouse

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

. Grothues started playing volleyball with the Dutch club Krekkers in 1996, inspired by the male national team winning the Olympic gold in Atlanta 1996. She made her international debut in the Dutch national team at the opening match of the

Montreux Volley Masters The Montreux Volley Masters (founded as the Coupe des Nations, later changed to BCV Volley Cup between 1990 and 1996 and to its current name in 1998) is an international invitational tournament for national teams in women's volleyball hosted by th ...

against Cuba in June 2008. Grothues did not play in the national team in 2014, due to an Achilles heel injury. At the 2010 World Championship she won the "best server" trophy. She played at the European Championships in 2012, 2013 and 2014. In 2015, she was promoted to team captain prior to the

2015 European Games The 2015 European Games, also known as Baku 2015 or Baku 2015 European Games ( az, Bakı 2015 Avropa Oyunları), were the inaugural edition of the European Games, an international multi-sport event for athletes representing the National Olympic ...

in Baku, Azerbaijan. As of 2016 she has 244 caps. During the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, where the Dutch women made their Olympic return after 20 years, Balkestein-Grothues injured her ankle during the second game of the group stage. Thus she only returned for the knockout rounds, seeing limited minutes as the Netherlands finished fourth.

Awards

Individuals

*'' 2010 FIVB World Championship "Best Server"'' * 2021–22 Greek Volleyball League MVP

Clubs

* 2008–09 Dutch Volleyball League Gold medal with cup

Champion, with DELA/Martinus Amstelveen * 2008–09 Dutch Volleyball Cup Simple gold cup

Winner, with DELA/Martinus Amstelveen * 2009–10 Dutch Volleyball League Gold medal with cup

Champion, with

TVC Amstelveen TVC may refer to: Television * TVC News, a Nigerian television channel * TVC Communications, a former television equipment distributor * TVC, trade jargon for television commercial *TVC Networks, a Mexican cable network conglomerate, parent of TVC ...

* 2009–10 Dutch Volleyball Cup Simple gold cup

Winner, with

* 2013–14 French Volleyball League Gold medal with cup

Champion, with

RC Cannes RC Cannes is a French women's volleyball club based in Cannes and playing in the Ligue AF. History was created as a sports club in 1922 and the volleyball department was introduced in 1942. Originally it had both men and women's teams until 19 ...

* 2013–14 French Volleyball Cup Simple gold cup

Winner, with

* 2014–15 French Volleyball League Gold medal with cup

Champion, with

* 2016–17 Turkish Volleyball League Gold medal with cup

Champion, with Fenerbahçe * 2016–17 Turkish Volleyball Cup Simple gold cup

Winner, with Fenerbahçe * 2021–22 Greek Volleyball League Gold medal with cup

Champion, with

* 2021–22 Greek Volleyball Cup Simple gold cup

Winner, with

* 2022–23 Greek Volleyball League Gold medal with cup

Champion, with

Personal

Maret Grothues married the Dutch hockey player Marcel Balkestein on 5 July 2014 and became Maret Balkestein-Grothues, following Dutch convention.The constant competition within the Balkestein-Grothues family…
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References

External links