Flawless Japan at the top of the standings at the end of Week 1

The silver medalists of the Volleyball Nations League 2024, Japan seem poised to contend for the title again in this year’s edition of the tournament after they had the best record among all 18 national teams in the first week of the event.

The Asians were impeccable in the four matches they played over the week in Ottawa, Canada, and completed their calendar at The Arena at TD Place on Sunday with their fourth sweep, this one against the Dominican Republic. The host country and the Netherlands also triumphed on the last day of matches in Pool 1.

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Japan were always in control against the Dominicans on Sunday and after, getting somewhat comfortable victories in the first two sets, they gave the Caribbean absolutely no chance in the third, winning 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-9) in an emphatic way.

Recently appointed as the new team captain, star outside hitter Mayu Ishikawa also led her team in box score, producing a match-high 20 points, with 17 kills and three aces. Fellow outside hitter Yoshino Sato was also unstoppable, delivering 19 points (17 kills, two aces) against the Queens of the Caribbean.

“It’s been really great to see that we’re finding our way as a team,” middle blocker Airi Miyabe remarked. “Our system has been working pretty well and the key is to keep doing what has been working for us. We’re all really excited and it was a very good start to take us to week two. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the next week, but we’ll do what we got to do.”

With the victory, Japan ended the first week of the VNL 2025 clear at the top of the standings with 12 points, one more than second-placed Italy. The Asians also accumulated 26.38 FIVB World Ranking points with the victories they earned in Canada, going from seventh to fifth in the list.

The Dominicans, who won two of their four matches in Ottawa and are 11^th with four points, had veteran opposite Gaila González as their leading scorer, with 14 points (11 kills, two blocks one ace).

Canada fight back to secure first victory

After failing to reward their fans with a home victory in their first three matches, Canada stepped up and gave them a big one on Sunday, coming back from a two-set deficit to overcome reigning world champions Serbia 3-2 (20-25, 18-25, 25-20, 25-18, 15-12) in the final match of the last day of action in Ottawa.

Opposite and captain Kiera Van Ryk had the second-highest scoring performance in the VNL 2025 so far, delivering 34 points in the Canadian victory, with 24 kills, an incredible nine aces and one block. Outside hitters Andrea Mitrovic and Hilary Johnson scored nine each.

Serbia, which return home from Ottawa with no victories, had four players getting to double digits in scoring - outside hitters Aleksandra Uzelac (22) and Katarina Dangubić (15), middle blocker Hena Kurtagić (19, including 11 blocks) and opposite Vanja Bukilić (13).

The Netherlands sweep Bulgaria

The Netherlands are also set to leave Ottawa on a high after they took Bulgaria down 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-23) on Sunday in their last match in the Canadian city, improving their record to two wins and two losses and moving up to eighth place with seven points to end the week inside the qualification zone for the Finals.

Outside hitter Iris Vos was the match’s top scorer with 13 points (seven kills, four aces, two blocks), and she saw four of her Dutch teammates leave the court with eight points – opposites Elles Dambrink and Nicole Van De Vosse, outside hitter Helena Kok and middle blocker Britte Stuut.

Captain Elitsa Atanasijević was the only Bulgarian player to get to double digits in scoring – the veteran outside hitter produced ten points, with eight kills and two blocks.

VNL 2025 – Match Schedule & Results

After a week of break, when the men will be in action, the women’s VNL will return from June 18-22, when pools will be held in Istanbul, Türkiye, Hong Kong, China, and Belgrade, Serbia.

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