Italy's fourth victory in Hong Kong was their tenth in 12 VNL Preliminary Phase matches and lifted their points total in the VNL 2026 standings to 28, good enough to give them the second seed ahead of the Finals, which will be held in Macao from July 22-26 - their quarterfinals opponents will be determined by the end of the day. With six wins and 19 points, China ended the Preliminary Phase in ninth place, but still qualified for the Finals as the host country and will face the top-seeded United States in their first elimination match.
Star opposite Ekaterina Antropova, who had scored 37 points against Canada on Saturday, didn't slow down against the Chinese, again emerging as Italy's leading scorer, this time with 28 points (24 kills, two blocks, two aces).
The Europeans had a more well-balanced offense against the Asians, which had middle blocker Sarah Fahr adding 16 points (14 kills, one block, one ace), Olympic champion Myriam Sylla registering 15 (14 kills, one block) and fellow outside hitter Stella Nervini producing 13, all in kills.
"It was a difficult match, and we were coming from two long matches earlier in the week, which made it even harder," captain Anna Danesi said ."But we played like Italy always do, remaining focused, calm and patient. And some of our adjustments worked, too. Now we have one week to physically recover and prepare for the Finals, and we'll be ready to face the best teams."
