Laura Heyrman (born 17 May 1993) is a retired Belgian professional volleyball player. She played in 108 official games for the Belgium women's national volleyball team and was a member of the Belgium women's national volleyball team that won a historic bronze medal at the 2013 Women's European Volleyball Championship.[1][2] She was part of the Belgian national team at the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in Italy.[3] Heyrman reached the CEV Women's Champions League final with Eczacibasi in 2023 and a year later with Numia Vero Volley Milano. She won the CEV Cup twice, with Saugella Team Monza in 2021 [4] and with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Istanbul in 2022.[5] She announced her retirement from professional volleyball after her team KS Developres Rzeszów lost the Polish Women's Volleyball League finals at the end of April 2026.[6]
| Laura Heyrman | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Belgian | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 17 May 1993 Beveren, Belgium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 74 kg (163 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Spike | 310 cm (122 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Block | 280 cm (110 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Volleyball information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Middle Blocker | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Although Heyrman never officially announced her retirement from the Belgium women's national volleyball team, she was one of the many players that started turning down invitations for the team. The reason became clear in December 2021 when Belgian national TV broadcaster VRT Canvas aired a documentary "The Price of the Winner" with testimony of Heyrman's former teammates Freya Aelbrecht, Valérie Courtois and Hélène Rousseaux decrying a toxic environment under headcoach Gert Vande Broek.[7] After the program aired, Heyrman, contacted by several newspapers, confirmed the stories of her former teammates.[8]
Career
editClubs
edit
Asterix Kieldrecht (2009–2011)
Dresdner SC (2012–2013)
Liu Jo Modena (2013–2016)- Liu Jo Nordmeccanica Modena (2016–2018)
Hitachi Rivale (2018–2019)- Saugella Team Monza (2019–2021)
Eczacıbaşı VitrA (2021–2023)- Numia Vero Volley Milano (2024–2025)
KS Developres Rzeszów (2026)
Awards
editHeyrman was one of the most successful Belgian volleyball players of her generation
Clubs
edit- 2009–10 Belgian Championship –
Champion, with Asterix Kieldrecht - 2009–10 Belgian Cup – Champion, with Asterix Kieldrecht
- 2009–10 CEV Women's Challenge Cup –
Runner-Up, with Asterix Kieldrecht - 2010–11 Belgian Championship – Champion, with Asterix Kieldrecht
- 2010–11 Belgian Cup – Champion, with Asterix Kieldrecht
- 2010-11 Belgian Supercup – Champion, with Asterix Kieldrecht
- 2011–12 Belgian Championship – Champion, with Asterix Kieldrecht
- 2011–12 Belgian Cup – Runner-Up, with Asterix Kieldrecht
- 2011–12 Belgian Supercup – Runner-Up, with Asterix Kieldrecht
- 2012–13 German Championship – Runner-Up, with Dresdner SC
- 2014–15 Italian Cup – Runner-Up, with Liu Jo Modena
- 2016–17 Italian Championship – Runner-Up, with Liu Jo Nordmeccanica Modena
- 2016–17 Italian Cup – Runner-Up, with Liu Jo Nordmeccanica Modena
- 2020-21 CEV Cup – Champion with Saugella Team Monza
- 2021-22 Turkish Super Cup – Runner-Up, with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Istanbul
- 2021-22 CEV Cup – Champion with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Istanbul
- 2022–23 Sultans League – Runner-Up, with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Istanbul
- 2022–23 CEV Champions League – Runner-Up, with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit Istanbul
- 2023–24 Italian Cup – Runner-Up, with Numia Vero Volley Milano
- 2023–24 Italian Superup – Runner-Up, with Numia Vero Volley Milano
- 2023–24 CEV Champions League – Runner-Up, with Numia Vero Volley Milano
- 2024–25 Italian Championship – Runner-Up, with Numia Vero Volley Milano
- 2024–25 Italian Cup – Runner-Up, with Numia Vero Volley Milano
- 2024–25 Italian Superup – Runner-Up, with Numia Vero Volley Milano
- 2025–26 Polish Championship – Runner-Up, with KS Developres Rzeszów
- 2025-26 Polish Supercup – Champion with KS Developres Rzeszów
National team
editYouth team
edit- 2010 Summer Youth Olympics -
Gold Medal - CEV U18 European Championship - Gold Medal
- FIVB U18 World Championship -
Bronze Medal
Senior team
edit- 2013 Women's European Volleyball Championship - Bronze Medal
Individual
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Laura Heyrman retires after an exceptional career at the highest international level". Royal Belgian Volleyball Federation. 2026-04-30. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
- ↑ "Yellow Tigers spark real Volleyball fever across Belgium". European Volleyball Confederation. 2013-09-16. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
- ↑ "Team Roster – Belgium". italy2014.fivb.org. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ↑ "CEV Volleyball Cup 2021 Women Finals". European Volleyball Confederation. 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
- ↑ "CEV Volleyball Cup 2022 Women Finals". European Volleyball Confederation. 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
- ↑ "Bronzen Tiger Laura Heyrman (32) neemt afscheid van het volleybal: "Moeilijk te verwoorden wat het betekende"" [Bronze Tiger Laura Heyrman (32) retires from volleyball: "Difficult to put into words what it meant"] (in Dutch). Sporza. 2026-04-30. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
- ↑ "Gezien in De prijs van de winnaar: 3 volleybalspeelsters getuigen over de mentale impact van hun coach" [As seen in The Price of the Winner: 3 volleyball players testify about the mental impact of their coach] (in Dutch). Sporza. 2021-12-06. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
- ↑ "De coaching waarvoor hij geroemd werd, deed zijn speelsters afhaken" [The coaching for which he was praised caused his players to drop out.] (in Dutch). De Standaard. 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
- ↑ "PallavoloVolley femminile, All Star Game – Sabato lo spettacolo d'inizio stagione: tutte le convocate, italiane e straniere" [Women's Volleyball All Star Game – The season-opening show on Saturday: all the Italian and foreign players called up] (in Italian). Ravenna: OA Sport. 2016-10-05. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
- ↑ "All Star Game: A Bergamo la sfida Selezione Italia vs Resto del Mondo" (in Italian). Bergamo: Volleyball.it. 2017-12-18. Archived from the original on 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2017-12-25.
External links
edit
- Laura Heyrman at the European Volleyball Confederation
- Laura Heyrman at Lega Pallavolo Serie A Femminile (in Italian)
- Laura Heyrman at V.League (archived) (in Japanese)
- Laura Heyrman at WorldofVolley
- Laura Heyrman at Volleybox
- Laura Heyrman at Team Belgium (in Dutch)
- Laura Heyrman at Olympedia
- Laura Heyrman at InterSportStats