Brazil stop Slovenia to end Week 1 on a high

Volleyball powerhouse Brazil found their best game in the last of their four home matches in the Volleyball Nations League 2025 and gifted the fans that packed the Maracanazinho stadium on Sunday with an exciting victory over Slovenia.

The South Americans benefited from the energy coming from the stands to sweep the Slovenians, who entered Sunday’s encounter as one of just two undefeated teams in the VNL 2025 after they won their first three matches in Rio de Janeiro. Iran and the United States also triumphed in the last day of matches in Brazil.

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Facing the number three team in the FIVB World Rankings, Brazil delivered their best performance in the entire week to secure an emphatic 3-0 (25-19, 29-27, 25-19) victory. The home team was dominant in the first and the third sets and displayed impressive mental strength to come back in the second after being down 24-21.

Setter Fernando ‘Cachopa’ Kreling had an excellent performance running the Brazilian offense as four players in the team got to double digits in scoring – opposite Alan Souza, outside hitter Henrique Honorato and middle blocker Judson Nunes scored 13 points each, while outside hitter Lukas Bergmann produced 11.

“We showed this week we’re a strong and resilient team,” Honorato said. “We struggled against Cuba and that was a tough loss for us. We still had some ups and downs against Ukraine, but played better and got the win. Today, we knew we had to play very well because Slovenia are excellent. I thought we played our best match in the week and that shows our team’s potential.”

The Slovenians, who suffered their first loss in the VNL 2025 after picking up victories against Cuba, Iran and the United States, were led by outside hitters Rok Bračko and Rok Možič, who produced 11 points each.

With the three points earned on Sunday, Brazil ended the week with 11 points (three wins, one loss), appearing in third place in the standings. Slovenia, which had the same campaign, return home in fifth place, with eight points.

Iran secure first with in five-set battle

Sunday's second match in Rio had Iran claiming their first victory in the VNL 2025. The Asians came back twice and prevailed over Ukraine 3-2 (28-30, 25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 15-9) to bounce back after three defeats. The Iranians now have four points in the standings, appearing in 14th place. Despite losing for a second-straight day, Ukraine took points on both matches and end the week inside the qualification zone for the Finals in seventh, with seven points.

Outside hitters Poriya Firouzjah, who scored 23 points (18 kills, three blocks, two aces), and Morteza Sharifi, who added 19 (15 kills, two blocks, two aces), were Iran's most productive players in their first victory in the VNL 2025.

Ukraine got 21 points (17 kills, two blocks, two aces) from outside hitter Illia Kovalov and 16 (12 kills, three blocks, one ace) from captain and middle blocker Yurii Semeniuk.

USA win the last match

The last match at the Maracanãzinho had the United States topping Cuba 3-1 (25-22, 25-18, 18-25, 25-13) to end the week with two wins and two losses - the Americans are 11th, with five points. Cuba, which won just one of their three matches in Rio, are 15th, with three points collected.

With 18 points (12 kills, four blocks, two aces), outside hitter Cooper Robinson was the leading American scorer in the match. Olympic medalist middle blocker Jeff Jendryk contributed 13, with ten kills, two blocks and one ace.

Cuban star outside hitter Marlon Yant was the match's top scorer with 21 points (16 kills, three blocks, two aces). Opposite Jose Masson added 17, with 14 kills and three blocks.

VNL 2025 – Match Schedule & Results

The second week of the VNL for the men will have pools based in Burgas, where hosts Bulgaria, Japan, Türkiye, Slovenia, Ukraine and France will play, Belgrade, where hosts Serbia, Germany, Cuba, the Netherlands and Argentina will be in action, and Chicago, where hosts the United States, Italy, Brazil, Canada, Poland and China are allocated. The matches will be held from June 25 to 29.

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