Luburić pulls Serbia out of the bottom with 20-point performance

Serbia earned what could end up being a decisive result in their battle to avoid relegation in the Volleyball Nations League 2025 on Friday, when they swept Ukraine in their second match of the week in Ljubljana.

With only two more matches to be played before the end of the Preliminary Phase, the Serbians played arguably their best volleyball in the VNL 2025 and got a surprising 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-17) victory over their European rivals at the Arena Stožice that got them in a much better position to fight relegation over the weekend.

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By ending their eight-match winless streak in the VNL 2025, the Serbians left the bottom of the VNL standings and now appear in 17^th place, with two wins and six points. They can still return to the 18^th spot before the end of the day if the Netherlands, which have one win and five points, beat Canada in the second match of the day, but will still have two matches to add victories and points to their campaign while the Dutch have only one more duel in their schedule.

Star opposite Drazen Luburić was instrumental in the Serbian first victory in over a month, tallying 20 points against the Ukrainians, with 17 kills, two blocks and one ace. Outside hitters Pavle Perić, who joined the team this week, and Marko Ivović, who’s the team captain, also had productive shifts, contributing 12 and 11 points, respectively.

On the Ukrainian side, opposite Vasyl Tupchii was the most prolific with 15 points (14 kills, one block), while outside hitter Dmytro Yanchuk and middle blocker and team captain Yurii Semeniuk added ten each.

Despite the defeat, the Ukrainians still appear inside the qualification zone for the Finals, ranking seventh with six wins and 18 points, but will now have to fight hard to keep their spot over the weekend.

France stop Cuba in Gdańsk

In Gdańsk, defending champions France showed strength to hand Cuba their first upset at the Ergo Arena after back-to-back victories this week, winning the match between the teams 3-2 (20-25, 25-15, 23-25, 25-21, 15-9).

The victory took the reigning Olympic champions to third place in the VNL standings, with seven wins and 20 points. Cuba continue inside the qualification zone, in sixth place, with six victories and 19 points.

Opposite Théo Faure topped all scorers, with 20 points (19 kills, one ace) registered, two more than outside hitter Trévor Clévenot, who left the court with 14 kills, three aces and one block to his name.

“We’re very happy because it was a very difficult and important match,” outside hitter Mathis Henno said. “We know Cuba have a great team and we tried to push against them. It was not easy, but we got the result and we’re proud of it.”

Opposite Jose Masso, who delivered 17 points (13 kills, three aces, one block), and outside hitters Marlon Yant and Miguel Ángel López, who scored 16 and 14, respectively, were Cuba’s most productive offensive weapons.

Volleyball Nations League 2025: full schedule and results

Set to start at 20:00 local time (18:00 GMT), the duel between China and Bulgaria will end the day in Gdańsk.

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