VNL 2025

Madisen Skinner fires 32 as USA down Serbia in five

VNL Wednesday delivers as many as five five-setters for an exciting start of the week

Published 03:59, 19 Jun 2025

Serbia (SRB) vs. USA (USA) women - Pool 6 - Preliminary Phase #47580101

USA’s Madisen Skinner celebrates with her teammates in Belgrade

Yet another five-set battle sparked excitement on the first day of the second competition week in the women’s Volleyball Nations League. With Madisen Skinner spearheading the team, the Americans beat the reigning world champions in the tie-breaker of the last game of the day in Belgrade to celebrate their second win in the competition and rise to 10^th place in the current VNL standings on a 2-3 win-loss record and 6 points. Serbia, on the other hand, suffered their fourth tie-breaker loss in five matches played and are stuck to the bottom of the table winless, in 18^th place on four points.

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Swinging at a 53% success rate, USA’s opposite Madisen Skinner hit 30 kills in attack towards a 3-2 (25-22, 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 15-11) victory over Serbia in what was already the fifth VNL five-setter of the day. She also put up two of her team’s 10 kill blocks to shape up an impressive 32-point match high. Outside hitter Sarah Franklin contributed another 20 points towards the Americans’ success, while middle blocker Amber Igiede added another 10.

#VNL2025: USA 🇺🇸 3–2 🇷🇸 SERBIA

Madisen Skinner drops 32 points in a thriller! 🔥

The Americans opened 2–0. The home team fought back to force a fifth, but USA held strong to seal the win! 💪

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🏐 #BePartOfTheGame #Volleyball pic.twitter.com/1EM9QbPwfw
— Volleyball World (@volleyballworld) June 18, 2025

Serbia fought back from two sets down to level the match, but in the fifth set, their visitors started with three points in a row and ended with three points in a row to disappoint the home crowd. Skinner put away two successful back-row spikes to bring in match point, which was then converted by setter Saige Kaahaaina-Torres with an ace.

“First of all, the crowd was amazing. Getting to play them on their home court, you could feel the buzz. Going to five and getting to battle with my teammates in my first game was just really fun, so it was a great day,” 22-year-old American libero Alexis Rodriguez, who made her VNL debut in that game, told VBTV. “Just playing USA volleyball – I think that’s what we did.”

The home team also showed a good blocking effort with the two middles – captain Maja Aleksic and 20-year-old rising star Hena Kurtagic – delivering four stuffs each to finish with 18 and 11 points, respectively. Aleksic also excelled from the serving line with three aces. Another 20-year-old, outside Vanja Ivanovic, led Serbia with 20 points. Her cross-court teammate Katarina Lazovic Dangubic added another 16 points.