The Asians had to come back twice to beat Serbia in their first match in Pasig City
Published 06:12, 17 Jun 2026
Japanese players celebrate their fifth victory in the VNL 2026
Asian giants Japan counted on a fantastic performance from their captain Mayu Ishikawa to continue undefeated in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2026 as the second week of the Preliminary Phase began on Wednesday.
The Asians were strongly challenged by Serbia in their first match in Pasig City, the Philippines, but they came back twice to triumph 3-2 (20-25, 26-24, 18-25, 32-30, 15-7) and keep their record clean in the tournament.
Japan 🇯🇵 vs. Serbia 🇷🇸 - Highlights | Week 2 | Women's VNL 2026
Japan, who won all four of their matches in the opening week of the VNL 2026 in Québec City, Canada, now have 13 points, ranking second in the VNL standings, only behind Brazil, who are also undefeated with five wins and 14 points.
Captain Ishikawa came up big in their rollercoaster of a match against the Serbians, leading their offensive efforts with 24 points (23 kills, one block). Opposite Yukiko Wada also had a strong showing, registering 20 points, all in kills.
"In the decisive moments of the fourth set, we just wanted to focus on the present and not think about anything else," outside hitter Yoshino Sato remarked. "The Filipino fans supported us a lot today, and that gave us a lot of energy in this difficult match."
Serbia were led by their outside hitter duo formed by Aleksandra Uzelac, who tallied 21 points (19 kills, two aces), and Nina Čajić, who added 18 (16 kills, one block, one ace).
The Japanese victory capped off the first day of matches in Pasig City, which also had the United States benefiting from 15 points (13 kills, two aces) scored by opposite Jordan Thompson to beat the Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-12) and defending champions Italy sweeping Czechia 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-22) with 21 points (14 kills, six aces, one block) scored by outside hitter Ekaterina Antropova.
The action continues on Thursday in Pasig City with two more matches - Czechia and the United States play at 16:00 local time (8:00 GMT) and Italy and Serbia meet at 20:00 (12:00 GMT).
In Ankara, hosts Türkiye made the most of Melissa Vargas' first appearance in the VNL 2026 to overcome Belgium 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-23) and celebrate their first victory in front of their fans. The 26-year-old opposite carried her team's offense with 17 points (16 kills, one ace).
Earlier, VNL leaders Brazil secured their fifth victory in as many matches, taking France down 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-15). Outside hitters Ana Cristina Souza, who led the team with 13 points (ten kills, two aces, one block), and Julia Bergmann, who added 11 (seven kills, four aces), played key roles in the South American victory.
The first match of the day in the Turkish capital was by far the most competitive, and had China prevailing in a five-set battle to top Germany 3-2 (25-27, 25-23, 18-25, 25-20, 15-6). Outside hitter Zhuang Yushan was the most prolific player across all matches, delivering a 27-point (23 kills, three blocks, one ace) performance to take the Chinese to victory.
Thursday's match schedule in Ankara features a doubleheader, with Brazil facing Belgium at 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT) and hosts Türkiye meeting France at 19:30 (16:30 GMT).
The first day of matches in Bangkok was marked by Poland's Magdalena Stysiak surpassing the 1,200-point mark in her VNL career. She reached the milestone by scoring nine points (seven kills, one block, one ace) in her team's 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-23) win over continental rivals Bulgaria.
The other matches of the day in the Thai capital had Canada defeating the Netherlands 3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-20) with opposite Kiera Van Ryk firing 26 points (17 kills, six aces, three blocks) and Ukraine delivering a whopping 19 blocks to overcome the home team 3-2 (25-23, 19-25, 28-26, 22-25, 15-10).
On Thursday, Ukraine and Poland meet at 17:00 local time (10:00 GMT) and Thailand and Bulgaria clash at 20:30 (13:30 GMT).
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