The United States are now at the top of the standings
Published 07:29, 21 Jun 2026
Germany ended the second week of the Preliminary Phase in 11th place
The last day of matches of the second week of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2026 Preliminary Phase had as many as six five-setters, and Germany were on the right side of one of them to take down the last undefeated team in the tournament on Sunday.
Coming from a five-set loss against hosts Türkiye on Saturday, the Europeans finished strong and avoided a second-straight reverse sweep to take down Brazil 3-2 (26-24, 28-26, 15-25, 19-25, 16-14) in Ankara.
Germany 🇩🇪 vs. Brazil 🇧🇷 - Highlights | Week 2 | Women's VNL 2026
The upset caused a change at the top of the VNL 2026 standings, as it allowed the United States to catch Brazil - each side has seven wins and 20 points, but the Americans rank first due to their better set ratio. Germany got to 11 points (three wins) and, despite continuing in 11th place, improved their position in the race for a spot in the VNL Finals.
The victory also rewarded the Germans with 13.27 FIVB World Ranking points, which was enough to move them into the top ten, now appearing in ninth place. Brazil dropped the same amount, but continue in second place.
Germany's outside hitter duo was pivotal in their victory, as while Pia Timmer led the team with 16 points (15 kills, one ace), Romy-Aylin Jatzko added another 14, with ten kills and four blocks.
"It was really special," Timmer reflected. "It was a team effort all around. I'm very proud of everyone who came in. We deserved it, and we rewarded ourselves. Last night was bittersweet, so it felt even more rewarding. Now we just need to keep believing in ourselves and that we can beat teams like this. This has to be our mindset."
Brazil had the match's leading scorers in outside hitters Ana Cristina Souza, who got to 21 points with 18 kills, two aces and one block, and Helena Wenk, who came off the bench and matched her production, scoring all her 21 points in kills.
"It's tough to have our first loss, but it's important that it happened now and not in the Finals," Ana Cristina said. "We know we have to improve, and we'll use the next weeks to fix what didn't work so well and get even better at what did work. Unfortunately, we lost the fifth set today, but this match showed that when we play together and help each other, we can come back from any situation."
Another five-setter got the day started in Ankara and had 12th-placed Belgium overcoming 18th-placed France 3-2 (25-17, 20-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-8).
Middle blocker Britt Fransen led Belgium with 18 points (11 kills, seven blocks), while outside hitter Britt Herbots made history with her 15-point (14 kills, one block) production, getting to 1,328 in her VNL career and tying Turkish star Ebrar Karaturt as the tournament's all-time leading scorer.
Without Karakurt, sixth-placed Türkiye ended the week in Ankara against eighth-placed China and, like the two other matches of the day in the country's capital, it also went to distance.
Star opposite Melissa Vargas had a terrific performance and carried the Turks to a 3-2 (25-21, 26-28, 23-25, 25-16, 15-12) victory with a fantastic 36-point (29 kills, four aces, three blocks) display,
Chinese captain and opposite Gong Xiangyu led the Asians with 22 points (20 kills, two aces) in the 100th VNL match of her career.
In Pasig City, the Philippines, the last day of matches started with the United States earning their fourth victory in as many matches in the second week and moving up to first place in the standings after taking Serbia down 3-1 (25-22, 18-25, 25-16, 25-20).
Olympic medalist outside hitter Avery Skinner led the Americans with 18 points (16 kills, one block, one ace), the same production obtained by Serbian outside hitter Nina Čajić, who registered 15 kills, two blocks and one ace.
Defending champions Italy also left the Philippines with reason to celebrate after they won a direct duel for third place against Japan, beating the Asians, who went down to fifth, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-18).
Playing in her original opposite position, Olympic and world champion Ekaterina Antropova contributed a match-high 17 points (15 kills, one block, one ace) for the Europeans, while outside hitter Mayu Ishikawa was Japan's leading scorer with 12, all in kills.
The third match in the Philippines had a spectacular outcome, with tenth-placed Czechia coming back from a two-set deficit to reverse sweep 17th-placed the Dominican Republic and triumph 3-2 (17-25, 24-26, 25-18, 31-29, 15-10).
Opposite Monika Brancuska shone the brightest in the Czech comeback, delivering an impressive 28 points (23 kills, three blocks, two aces), while outside hitter Flormarie Heredia tallied 17 (15 kills, two blocks) for the Caribbeans.
In Bangkok, Canada delivered the biggest upset of the day, counting on 26 points (20 kills, four aces, two blocks) from star opposite Kiera Van Ryk to defeat Poland 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 25-16, 11-25, 15-13) - the Canadians are now seventh, while the Poles rank fourth.
Canada 🇨🇦 vs. Poland 🇵🇱 - Highlights | Week 2 | Women's VNL 2026
In another five-setter, 16th-placed Bulgaria closed the gap to 15th-placed Ukraine in the standings by topping their direct rivals 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 21-25, 25-15, 17-15). Opposite Merelin Nikolova led the Bulgarians with 16 points (15 kills, one ace), while two Ukrainian players - opposite Anna Artyshuk (22) and outside hitter and Oleksandra Milenko (20) - hit the 20-point mark.
In the last match of the week, the Netherlands, which are ranked ninth, swept hosts Thailand, who are 14th, 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-15), having outside hitter Jolien Knollema as their leading scorer with 19 points (18 kills, one block). The match marked the 100th VNL appearance of Thai libero Piyanut Pannoy.
With all seven spots to the Finals still up for grabs (China is the only qualified team as the host country), the VNL Preliminary Phase will be concluded from July 8-12 in Hong Kong, China, Osaka, Japan, and Belgrade, Serbia.
The Chinese pool will feature the home team, Belgium, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Italy and Ukraine. Hosts Japan, Brazil, Poland, Thailand, Türkiye and the United States will compete in Osaka. Making the trip to Belgrade will be hosts Serbia, Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
VNL 2026 schedule and results
VNL 2026 ticket information
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