Antropova steps up and pushes Italy past Germany in Rio

Italy couldn’t use star opposite Paola Egonu, the MVP of last year’s Paris Olympics, in their second match in the Volleyball Nations League 2025, but, thanks to the performance of her substitute Ekaterina Antropova, they still managed to continue undefeated, securing their second victory in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.

The Italians met continental rivals Germany in the first match of the day at the Maracanãzinho stadium and, after an intense back-and-forth, prevailed in five sets. Later, the two teams that flanked Italy at the podium at last year’s Olympics battled and hosts Brazil came out on top, beating the United States in straight sets.

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With Egonu, who had led the team in their victory over the Americans on Wednesday, rested after not feeling well during Italy’s pre-game training in the morning, Antropova was inserted into the team’s starting lineup and made a difference for them, playing a pivotal role in their 3-2 (22-25, 25-10, 20-25, 25-13, 15-9) victory over the Germans.

The 22-year-old Olympic champion matched the production of Belgian Britt Herbots earlier on Thursday and left the court with 31 points (21 kills, six blocks, four aces), the highest scoring output in the VNL 2025 so far.

“I’m incredibly happy that we were able to get this win,” she said. “It wasn’t an easy match for us, and I’m happy that we did it. We absolutely still need to get our rhythm back. This is our first international tournament in the season, and even if it’s almost the same team as last season, we’re coming from a long season with our clubs and we need to find our rhythm. I think that as long as we can play as a team as we did today, we’ll be fine.”

Outside hitter Alice Degradi also had a great match off the bench for the Italians, contributing 16 points (11 kills, four blocks, one ace), all scored in the last two sets of the match.

Germany, which had swept Korea in their debut on Wednesday, got 15 points from each of outside hitter Lina Alsmeier and opposite Lena Kindermann.

Brazil sweep the United States

In the second and last match of the day, hosts Brazil benefited from the support coming from the stands to get their second sweep in the tournament, ending the second day of the VNL as the only team yet to drop a set after two matches played. The South Americans built on their strong debut against Czechia and topped the United States 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19) to delight their fans.

Paris Olympic bronze medalist outside hitter Ana Cristina Souza was outstanding for the home team, delivering a sound 20-point performance, earned with 16 kills, two blocks and two aces. Fellow Olympic medalist and team opposite Tainara Santos contributed another 12, with ten kills and two blocks.

Fielding a young lineup in the opening week of the VNL 2025, the American team had Logan Eggleston as their leading scorer with 13 points (12 kills, one block) - fellow outside hitter and captain Veronica Jones-Perry tallied nine, with seven kills and two aces.

VNL 2025 – Match Schedule & Results

The Italians will try to get their third victory in the VNL 2025 on Friday, when they face Korea at 17:30 (20:30 GMT). The other match of the third day of action in Rio will have the United States and Czechia looking for their first wins at 21:00 (00:00 GMT, Saturday).

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