Czechia upset the USA in dramatic five-setter to get first-ever VNL victory

History was made on the third day of the opening week of the Volleyball Nations League 2025 as, supported by thousands of local fans, rookies Czechia secured their first-ever victory in the tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Appearing in the event for the first time ever, the Europeans experienced a feeling they will long cherish on Friday, taking down one of the powerhouses of the sport and three-time VNL champions the United States at the Maracanãzinho stadium. Earlier, defending champions Italy kept their record clean, sweeping Korea in their third match in the tournament.

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Czechia’s dramatic 3-2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 27-25) victory was historic in many different ways as it saw the Europeans come back from a two-set deficit to beat the Americans, who started the match in fifth place in the FIVB World Rankings, for the first time ever. They showed nerves of steel in the tie-breaker, avoiding ten match points from their opponents before scoring the game-winner.

“After losing the first two sets, we knew we had to be more aggressive in our attack,” head coach Giannis Athanasopoulos said. “We changed our distribution a little bit, but I think the big thing for us tonight was that we didn’t give them any free balls. And we never gave up, our team deserves a lot of credit. It’s a huge victory for us, but we have another important game tomorrow, and we need to control our emotions.”

The Czech victory was truly a team effort as three players ended the match with 20 points or more – opposite Monika Brancuská had 23 (22 kills, one block), while outside hitters Michaela Mlejnková and Magdalena Bukovská registered 22 and 21, respectively.

“It was such a hard match, with so many emotions,” team captain Mlejnková reacted. “I’m so proud of my team because we never gave up and we fought until the end. We believed even when we were down two sets. I love the atmosphere here, the fans were amazing and we enjoyed it so much. It was like we were playing at home.”

The historic triumph gave the Czechs massive 12.49 FIVB World Ranking points – they continue in 13^th place. The Americans lost the same amount and fell to seventh place.

Still winless in the VNL 2025, the Americans, who are fielding a young roster in the opening week of the event, which features only five players with international experience, had outside hitter Sarah Franklin as their leading scorer with 20 points (19 kills, one block), followed by middle blocker Amber Igiede, who produced 18, with 13 kills, four blocks and one ace.

Egonu returns at full force

The first match of the day in Brazil saw Olympic champions Italy claim their third victory in the VNL 2025. After overcoming the United States and Germany, the Europeans defeated Korea 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-17) and continue undefeated.

Preserved in the match against the Germans after she didn’t feel well during the day, star opposite Paola Egonu hit the ground running in her return and led the team with 16 points (13 wins, two blocks, one ace).

“We work very hard and never take things for granted, especially knowing that everyone will want to play their best game against us,” Egonu said. “This is really motivating, and we want to keep improving our level.”

Rotating some players in the starting lineup, the Italians had middle blocker Linda Nwakalor and outside hitter Loveth Omoruyi adding nine points each.

Outside hitters Seoyoung Yuk and Sohwi Kang were Korea’s most productive players, with nine and eight points, respectively.

VNL 2025 – Match Schedule & Results

Saturday’s match schedule in Rio will have two more encounters, with hosts Brazil meeting Germany at 13:30 local time (18:30 GMT) and the Czechs trying to get their second victory against Korea at 17:00 (22:00 GMT).

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