VNL 2025

Brazil ruins Chiba epilog for Japan with speedy sweep

With Pauline Martin on fire, Belgium beats Czechia in four sets

Published 01:17, 13 Jul 2025

Japan (JPN) vs. Brazil (BRA) women - Pool 9 - Preliminary Phase #51354546

Gabi in attack for Brazil against Japan in Chiba

Brazil hammered out an emphatic shutout of hosts Japan in the women’s Volleyball Nations League closing match in Chiba to guarantee themselves at least a second-place finish in the final Preliminary Phase standings. The South Americans are on top of the current VNL standings on an 11-1 win-loss record and 31 points, but could still be surpassed by undefeated Italy. Japan finished in third place on 9-3 and 27, on a better set ratio than fourth-placed Poland. Meanwhile, in Sunday’s opening match over in Apeldoorn, Belgium beat Czechia in four sets to finish in 14^th place on 4-8 and 11. The VNL rookies, on the other hand, occupy 11^th place on 5-7 and 14, but could still be surpassed by Dominican Republic.

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Brazil mercilessly destroyed Japan’s ambitions to go through the entire week undefeated in front of their fantastic home fans in Chiba and mastered a convincing 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-20) sweep. Outside hitter Julia Bergmann was the best scorer of the match with 15 points, spiking at a 64% success rate and adding a kill block to her tally. Her star cross-court teammate and captain Gabriela Guimaraes (Gabi) contributed another 11 points in attack, including the match winner. Opposite Rosamaria Montibeller put together a 10-point tally, including an ace. Another four aces were authored by experienced setter Roberta Ratzke. Outside and captain Mayu Ishikawa was Japan’s only player to reach the double digits with 12 points to her name.

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“It was a crazy match! It’s super difficult to play against Japan. We have a joke among us that whenever we have to play against Japan, we have to take three or four coffees before that to have some extra caffeine, some extra energy. We need to attack one, two, three times to finish a rally,” Gabi told VBTV. “But it was an important victory. We knew that it would not be easy to play here in Japan, but you could see how the team performed with aggressiveness, having a lot of patience… We did not make many mistakes. Our block-defense system was working well, especially on serve, and, in attack, Roberta could use everyone who played today.

“This is what we need – the team performing well makes it much easier for us. Now we need to rest a little bit – we’ve had a tough week – and prepare for the Finals. At the Finals, we need to be really aggressive from the start. We don’t know whom we are going to play in the quarterfinals, but for sure, it is going to be pretty difficult.”

In the Apeldoorn pool, Belgium came back from a set down to deliver a 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-21) victory over Czechia, outplaying the opponents mostly with their attacks. 22-year-old opposite Pauline Martin was the star of the match with a game-high 31 points, including two kill blocks and an ace. She also authored the last three points of the fourth set for a spectacular conclusion of the match. The two Belgian middle blockers – 20-year-old Anna Koulberg and Nathalie Lemmens – chipped in with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Outside and captain Michaela Mlejnkova led Czechia with 16 points, assisted by cross-court teammate Helena Grozer with 12, 20-year-old opposite Monika Brancuska with 12, and middle Magdalena Jehlarova, who raised six of the team’s 13 kill blocks and finished with a total of 10 points.

Next in Apeldoorn, hosts Netherlands will take on defending VNL champions Italy, starting at 16:00 local time (14:00 UTC). What is probably the most anticipated match of the day, between Thailand and Canada in Arlington, which will decide whether Korea or Thailand will be relegated, will serve off at 15:00 local time (20:00 UTC).