Italy beat the USA and begin VNL title defense at full force

The finalists of last year’s Paris Olympics, Italy and the United States, met in their first official match of the season, dueling in Rio de Janeiro in their opening match in the Volleyball Nations League 2025, and, as was the case in the French capital, the Italians came out on top.

Fielding ten of the 13 players that gave the country its first Olympic gold medal ten months ago, the Italians handled a young American team in three sets at the Maracanãzinho stadium on Wednesday, claiming the first Pool 2 victory. A few hours later, Brazil spoiled Czechia's first-ever VNL match, winning in straight sets, and Germany swept Korea, completing the first day of action in Rio.

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The reigning VNL champions, Italy looked dominant in the first two sets, securing comfortable victories, but started behind in the third set and had to fight back to reverse a 21-14 American lead to prevail 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 30-28) and start their title defense with a positive result, also keeping their spot at the top of the FIVB World Rankings.

The MVP of the Paris Games, star opposite Paola Egonu carried the Italian offense against the Americans with 17 points (14 kills, three blocks). Fellow Olympic champions Myriam Sylla and Sarah Fahr also got to double digits, with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

“The Americans started pushing us more in the third set and we didn’t play like the first two,” middle blocker and team captain Anna Danesi said. “In the first sets, when they pushed us, we managed to focus on our side and what we had to do and things went well. I feel like we were playing at like 70% of our level in the third set and it was very hard to come back, but we did it and I’m happy for this.”

On the American side, new head coach Erik Sullivan sent to the court a very young team featuring ten players who were making their VNL debut against the Olympic champions in Rio. Outside hitter Sarah Franklin and opposite Logan Lednicky were the most productive with nine points each, but the coach also took many positives from the team’s collective performance in what should be one of the most difficult matches of the season for them.

“I love the way our team competed,” Sullivan said. “The first two sets were a little bit of a struggle for us, but they did a nice job, and the way we came out in the third was great. And we didn’t give up, which could have happened, especially against such a strong team as Italy. I think we did a lot of positive things in the third set, and we just have to get to a level where we are playing like that more consistently. It was a good first step in a long journey.”

New-look Brazil sweep Czechia

The second Pool 2 match in Rio marked Czechia's first-ever appearance in the VNL, but it was Brazil who shone the brightest, winning in front of 9,000 of their home fans. Despite having only two starters from their bronze medal-winning campaign at last year's Paris Olympics, the South Americans were in control the entire time and triumphed 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-17).

Two Paris Olympic medalists led the Brazilian victory at the Maracanãzinho as outside hitter Ana Cristina Souza was the match's top scorer with 16 points (15 kills, one ace), while opposite Tainara Santos added another 13, with 11 kills and two aces.

Opposite Monika Brancuská was Czechia's top scorer in the team's first VNL match with 12 points registered, all in kills. Middle blocker Magdalena Jehlarová contributed nine, with seven kills and two blocks.

Germany dominate Korea with their blocking

Germany and Korea were the last teams to make their debuts in Rio, and the Europeans benefited from their height advantage to dominate the net, outscoring the Asians in blocks by 18 to one. With that, the Germans triumphed 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-21) to claim their first victory in the tournament.

Team captain and star middle blocker Camilla Weitzel was Germany's most active player on the court - she topped all scorers with 16 points, registering an impressive eight blocks to go with seven kills and one ace. Opposite Lena Kindermann came next with 14 (seven kills, four aces, three blocks) and middle blocker Marie Schölzel tallied 13, with six kills, six blocks and one ace.

Outside hitter Yuk Seoyoung was Korea's most productive players with seven points, all obtained in kills.

VNL 2025 – Match Schedule & Results

The second day of action in Rio de Janeiro will have just two matches, with European rivals Italy and Germany battling at 17:30 (20:30 GMT) and Brazil and the United States completing the schedule at 21:00 (00:00 GMT, Friday).

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