Captain Ishikawa leads Japan past the Netherlands in VNL debut

Star outside hitter Mayu Ishikawa stepped up in her first match as the captain of the Japanese national team and helped the Asians have a vastly successful debut in the Volleyball Nations League 2025.

The Japanese delivered a strong performance on Wednesday to take the first victory in Pool 1 at The Arena at TD Place, in Ottawa, overcoming the Netherlands in straight sets. In the second match of the day, the Dominican Republic produced a massive comeback to beat world champions Serbia. The day ended with another tie-breaker, which determined Canada's victory over Bulgaria.

• Watch the Volleyball Nations League on VBTV

Playing their first match with new head coach Ferhat Akbas on the sidelines, Japan had a solid performance in Ottawa, dominating the Netherlands from start to finish to secure a 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-16) victory that earned them 7.69 FIVB World Ranking points.

The match also marked the first appearance of the 25-year-old Ishikawa as the Japanese captain – she inherited the role after the retirement of star outside hitter Sarina Koga, who captained the team for many years. The new responsibility didn’t faze Ishikawa, who was excellent throughout the match, producing 15 points, with 14 kills and one ace.

She was the second most productive player on the court, only behind fellow Japanese outside hitter Yoshino Sato, who led the team with 18 points (14 kills, four blocks). Opposite Yukiko Wada also got to double digits, registering 12 points, all in kills.

“I think we did a really good job on defense today and were also very aggressive at the net and that helped us get the result we wanted,” middle blocker Airi Miyabe, Japan’s fourth-best scorer with six points, said. “It was definitely a really good way for us to start the VNL. Now we’ll try to keep our expectations under control and try to bring what we need to win every match.”

Fielding a young lineup, the Dutch got most of their production from 21-year-old Dutch opposite Elles Dambrink, who tallied ten points (all in kills), and 22-year-old outside hitter Iris Vos, who registered nine, all of them with swings.https://www.instagram.com/p/DKfv8zAoAyK/?img_index=1

Dominicans complete reverse sweep against Serbia

The second match of the day in Ottawa was more unpredictable and had the Dominican Republic coming back from a two-set deficit to beat Serbia. The Queens of the Caribbean didn't go down after dropping the first two sets and came back to triumph 3-2 (26-28, 19-25, 25-15, 25-20, 18-16), winning the first tie-breaker of the seventh edition of the VNL.

Outside hitter Brayelin Martinez, who scored 17 points (11 kills, five blocks, one ace), her sister and middle blocker Jineiry, who registered 16 (14 kills, two blocks), and opposite Gaila González, who also got 16 (11 kills, four blocks, one ace), were key pieces in the incredible Dominican comeback.

Serbia centralized their scoring efforts in outside hitter Aleksandra Uzelac, who carried their offense with 30 points (25 kills, three aces, two blocks) and became the first player to reach the mark in the VNL 2025. Opposite Vanja Bukilić came next, with 15 (13 kills, two aces).

Canada need five sets to beat Bulgaria

Another five-setter followed in the last match of the opening day and this one ended with hosts Canada prevailing over Bulgaria 3-2 (25-18, 25-12, 23-25, 19-25, 15-4) in front of their home fans. The result gave the North Americans their first victory under the guidance of new head coach Giovanni Guidetti.

Star opposite Kiera Van Ryk was instrumental in the Canadian victory, captaining her team with a match-high 25 points (19 kills, four aces, two blocks). Outside hitter Hilary Johnson tallied 18 (16 kills, two aces), while middle blocker Emily Maglio added 14, with eight kills, five blocks and one ace.

Bulgaria's strong performance had huge contributions from two players who returned to the national team this season - team captain and outside hitter Elitsa Atanasijević, who scored 14 points (13 kills, one block), and middle blocker Nasya Dimitrova, who added 12, with eight kills, three blocks and one ace.

VNL 2025 – Match Schedule & Results

On Thursday, two matches will take place at The Arena at TD Place, with Bulgaria and the Dominican Republic meeting at 16:00 (20:00 GMT) and Canada and the Netherlands playing later, at 19:30 (23:30 GMT).

Quick links:
Volleyball Nations League
VBTV
Volleyball World Facebook
Volleyball World X
Volleyball World Instagram
Volleyball World YouTube
Subscribe to Volleyball World's Newsletter