Ana Cristina steers Brazil to first win in Istanbul

As the first day of the second competition week in the women’s Volleyball Nations League continued to unfold on Wednesday, Brazil celebrated a four-set win over Belgium in Istanbul to improve to a 4-1 win-loss record and 11 points in third place in the current VNL standings, leaving the opponents on 1-4 and 3 in 16th. Germany and France opened the day in Belgrade with a five-set saga, with the Germans scoring their third win in the competition. They stand seventh on 3-2 and 10, while France are in 14^th place on 1-4 and 4. Hosts China closed the day in Hong Kong with a 3-1 win over Czechia. They are currently sixth in the table on 3-2 and 10, while the VNL rookies are in 12^th place on 2-3 and 4.

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In the absence of super star Gabriela Guimaraes (Gabi) from the court, 21-year-old outside hitter Ana Cristina fueled Brazil to a 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-16, 25-15) victory over Belgium with a match-high 22 points. She was very efficient in attack, spiking 20 points at a 61% success rate. Middle blocker Julia Kudiess fired three aces and put up five kill blocks to finish with 14 points. Another 14, including two aces, were delivered by outside Julia Bergmann, while opposite Tainara Santos finished with 11. Belgian outside and captain Britt Herbots was her team’s most prolific player with a total of 18 points, including two aces and a block.

“Our team is young and we have a lot to improve, I would even say everything,” Ana Cristina told VBTV after the game. “You can see that we keep improving in every match and I am really happy, because I see we are doing a good job.”

Over in Belgrade, France and Germany put up an exhilarating five-set duel. In set four, the Germans denied two French match points before marching on to a 3-2 (25-23, 17-25, 25-27, 30-28, 15-11) victory. They completely outblocked the opponents with as many as 22 stuffs combined for the team, against half of that for France. Middle blocker and captain Camilla Weitzel impressed with six kill blocks to finish on a 19-point total. Her cross-court teammate Marie Scholzel raised another five towards a 12-point tally, while outside Lina Alsmeier emerged as the team’s best scorer on 25 points, including four kill blocks and two aces. France’s opposite Iman Ndiaye was the best scorer of the match with a solid 31 points to her name, including three aces and two kill blocks. Also with three serving points, captain Helena Cazaute finished with 19 points. The other outside Sabine Haewegene and 21-year-old middle Fatoumata Fanguedou added 15 and 10 points, respectively, for France.

The day in Hong Kong finished with China’s 3-1 (29-27, 23-25, 25-15, 25-22) victory over Czechia to the delight of the home fans. Middle Wang Yuanyuan offered an outstanding blocking performance ,with seven stuffs to her name, and finished with a total of 15 points. Spiking at a 53% success rate, 22-year-old outside Wu Mengjie put away a match-high 25 points, including one ace and one block. The team’s other 22-year-old outside Zhuang Yushan added another 21 points (two aces, two blocks). Opposite and captain Gong Xiangyu finished with 11 (three blocks, one ace). Four players reached the double digits on Czechia’s side as well – captain Michaela Mlejnkova with 18, the other outside Helena Grozer with 17, 20-year-old opposite Monika Brancuska with 15, and middle Magdalena Jehlarova with 11 points.

Wednesday’s VNL program continues with the game between the Netherlands and Poland in Belgrade, and the closing matches in Istanbul between Dominican Republic and Turkiye and in the Serbian capital between Serbia and USA.

Volleyball Nations League 2025: full schedule and results

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