China sweep Serbia in front of a new VNL record crowd of 17,816

Energized by the largest home crowd ever registered in a Volleyball Nations League (VNL) match, China earned their second victory in the 2026 edition of the tournament on Saturday.

The Asians got to play in front of 17,816 enthusiastic fans at the Nanjing Olympic Youth Sports Park Gymnasium and capitalized on the opportunity to defeat Serbia 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-21) and create momentum ahead of their last match of the first week, against Poland, on Sunday.

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The match has set a new attendance record in the VNL, eclipsing the mark of 17,034 fans registered in Istanbul in June 2025 when hosts Türkiye faced Brazil.

China relied on significant offensive contributions from multiple players to take the Serbians down, as opposite Tang Xin, outside hitter Zhuang Yushan and middle blocker Wang Aoqian each registered 14 points in the encounter.

"I was so excited to play against a top team like Serbia," Tang said. "I was getting a little nervous at the start, but as the match continued I was able to relax and play more freely. Our service pressure was very good today and helped us get the win."

The Europeans had their outside hitters as their leading scorers, with Anja Zubić and Branka Tica each delivering 14 points.

Scorers shine as Belgium reverse sweep Thailand

Fans who got into the stadium in Nanjing earlier were rewarded with an incredible match, with Belgium producing a reverse sweep to beat Thailand 3-2 (20-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 16-14).

The encounter was full of excitement and had an amazing battle of scorers, with Belgian opposite Pauline Martin reaching a whopping 40 points (37 kills, two blocks, one ace), the second-highest mark in VNL history, to overcome her Thai counterpart Pimpichaya Kokram, who left the court with 37 points (35 kills, two aces) to her name.

Three matches are scheduled for Sunday, the last day of matches in Nanjing - Thailand and Czechia start the day at 11:30 local time (3:30 GMT), Belgium and Serbia follow at 15:00 (7:00 GMT) and China and Poland complete the schedule at 19:00 (11:00 GMT).

VNL 2026 schedule
VNL 2026 ticket information

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