Five five-set battles decorate first week’s last day in men’s VNL

It was almost as if the first competition week of the men’s Volleyball Nations League 2026 didn’t want to let go. On Sunday’s last day as many as five of the nine matches played were pushed to fifth sets, with Poland, Belgium, Turkiye, Brazil and Italy winning the tie-breakers. In one of the four-setters, on the other hand, Germany and France extended the first set to 78 rallies and made it the longest one of the season so far.

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With about eight thousand in the stands in Brasilia to enjoy the South American classic between Brazil and Argentina, the home team delighted the crowd with a furious comeback from two sets down to finish the week undefeated and on top of the current VNL standings with a 4-0 win-loss record and 11 points, ahead of Japan on point ratios. Argentina gained their first point of the season and, on 0-4 and 1, unstuck themselves from the very bottom of the table, overtaking Cuba to the 17^th place on set ratios. With Brazilian setter Fernando Kreling (Cachopa) showing his magic on the court, as many as five of his teammates reached the double digits in scoring on the way to a 3-2 (18-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-23, 15-9) victory. Middle blocker Judson Nunes led the way with 15 points. Outside hitters Henrique Honorato and Adriano Cavalcante, middle Matheus Pinta and opposite Darlan Souza put away 13, 12, 12 and 11 points, respectively. Argentina’s Luciano Vicentin was by far the best scorer of the match with 24 points, including four kill blocks.

Meanwhile, in a rollercoaster match played in Ottawa, the world’s number one team – reigning world champions Italy – celebrated a 3-2 (25-18, 15-25, 25-19, 18-25, 15-10) win over the United States. The two teams ended the week as neighbors in the standings on 3-1 and 9 each. Separated by point ratios, USA stand third, while Italy are in fourth place. Spiking at a 60% success rate, 22-year-old outside hitter Luca Porro contributed a team-high 23 points to Italy’s success, including three aces and two kill blocks. His cross-court teammate and captain Mattia Bottolo, who entered the match as a substitution during the second set, produced another 14 points, while 19-year-old middle blocker Pardo Mati and opposite Kamil Rychlicki signed off with 10 points each. American opposite Jake Hanes impressed with five aces and two kill blocks towards a match-high 25 points.

Turkiye achieved their second win in an exciting five-setter against hosts Canada in Ottawa to end the week in 11^th place on 2-2 and 5, and hand the opponents their third tie-breaker defeat, leaving them in 13^th place on 1-3 and 6. Middle Ahmet Tumer (two aces, two kill blocks) and outside Efe Bayram (one ace, one kill block) contributed a team-high 14 points apiece towards Turkiye’s 3-2 (25-21, 17-25, 25-23, 14-25, 15-8) victory. The team’s other middle Bedirhan Bulbul also reached the double digits with 10 points, including three stuffs. Canada’s outside Jackson Young was the best scorer of the match with 18 points, including two aces and a block, under his belt.

The competition day in Brasilia started with a five-set duel between VNL rookies Belgium and Iran. 22-year-old opposite Ferre Reggers led the European side to a 3-2 (25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 17-25, 15-12) victory with a team-high 24 points, while 22-year-old outside Pierre Perin excelled from the serving line with five aces to sign off with a total of 20 points. His 21-year-old Iranian counterpart Ali Haghparast emerged as the best scorer of the match with 27 points, including two aces and two blocks. Belgium improved to 2-2 and 5 to climb to 10^th place in the standings, while Iran stand 15^th on 1-3 and 4.

Earlier in the day, in one of the three matches played in Linyi, defending champions Poland produced a reverse sweep against Ukraine. Japan achieved a 3-1 turnaround against Slovenia, while hosts China shut out Cuba. Japan occupy the runner-up position, while Slovenia, on 3-1 and 6, Poland and Ukraine, on 2-2 and 7 each, have lined up in the places from sixth to eighth. China are 14^th on 1-3 and 4, while Cuba trail bottom, in 18^th place on 0-4 and 1.

Germany handed Olympic champions France yet another defeat this week in Ottawa. After an epic first set in the Canadian capital, the two European neighbors went to four sets, with the Germans celebrating a 3-1 (40-38, 19-25, 25-20, 25-22) win. They improved to 2-2  and 5 in 12^th place, while the French stand third from the bottom, in 16^th place on 1-3 and 2. The two opposites – Germany’s Filip John (two aces, one kill block) and France’s Stephen Boyer (four stuffs) – shared the match top scorer honors with 19 points each. German outside Moritz Reichert shined with four aces towards a 12-point total, while middle blockers Simon Torwie and Tobias Krick (four stuffs) chipped in with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

In the Balkan classic played on Sunday in Brasilia, Serbia delivered a 3-0 (30-28, 25-22, 25-23) upset of World Championship silver medalists Bulgaria. Outside Lazar Marinovic (two aces, two kill blocks) and opposite Veljko Masulovic led the Serbians with 14 and 13 points, respectively, while Bulgaria’s 22-year-old striker Aleksandar Nikolov once again emerged as the match top scorer, with 21 points, all in swings. On 3-1 and 9, Serbia stand fifth in the table, while Bulgaria dropped to ninth place on 2-2 and 6.

VNL 2026 schedule and results
VNL 2026 ticket information

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