National teams make a push for the Finals in Arlington

The Volleyball Nations League 2025 Preliminary Phase is set to end this week for the women and the outcome of the matches set to be held across the three locations that will host pools over the next five days will determine which national teams will make the trip to Łódź to compete in the Finals from July 23-27.

The 12 duels set to be held in the American city of Arlington between Wednesday and Sunday should be extremely relevant in the definition of the VNL 2025 finalists, as at least four of the six national teams set to play at the College Park Center have serious aspirations of qualifying.

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With the seven best-ranked national teams from the Preliminary Phase and hosts Poland, which are currently in second place, making it to the Finals, three of the six teams that will play in Arlington are inside the qualification zone – China, which are sixth with five victories (15 points), Germany, which rank seventh, with four victories (14), and hosts the United States, which appear in eighth place, also with four victories (11).

The Dominican Republic, another national team that will compete in Texas, are not far behind, ranking tenth, with four victories and nine points. Canada, which rank 15^th, with two victories (six points), and Thailand, which come next at 16^th with one victory (five points), still have chances of qualifying, but should also worry about avoiding the bottom of the standings, which would get them relegated in the VNL.

China had their ups and downs in the first week of the VNL, in Beijing, getting two victories. The Asians showed improvement in the second week, in Hong Kong, triumphing in three of their four matches, and got one step closer to qualifying. Young phenom Zhang Zixuan has been one of the standouts in the Chinese campaign as the 16-year-old setter ranks first among the players in her position in the VNL with 236 successful actions. Outside hitter Wu Mengjie is China’s leading scorer with 147 points, while experienced middle blocker Wang Yuanyuan ranks third in the VNL in blocks, with 22.

"Our team has been bringing a lot of energy to every match," opposite and team captain Gong Xiangyu said. "We've been behind on some occasions in the VNL and even when the gap seemed too big, we just kept pushing."

Germany equally split their four victories across the first two VNL weeks, getting two of them in Rio de Janeiro and another two in Belgrade. Captain Camilla Weitzel has been delivering excellent performances in the VNL 2025 as she ranks second in the tournament in block points (22) and appears in fourth place in aces (11). Outside hitter Lina Aslmeier is tied for second in passes, with 62.

"I think we've got to play at a really high level in some matches of the first two weeks," libero Anna Pogany reflected. "And it was important for us to realize that we can play at that level. We have to work on being more consistent because our ups and downs were, at times, just too much. If we can play consistently at a high level, we can beat some really good teams."

The United States sent a very young squad to Rio de Janeiro in the first week and returned home with just one victory. In Belgrade, with a few veterans joining the group, their performance was far superior and resulted in three positive results. This week, they will have significant additions in Olympic medalist outside hitter Avery Skinner and middle blocker Asija O'Neal. Outside hitter Sarah Franklin is the team’s top scorer with 98 points registered, while middle blocker Amber Igiede is tied for sixth in blocks, wth 19.

"The last time that I played in a USA jersey in front of my family was in Paris, and we were able to do something pretty cool over there," Olympic champion setter Jordyn Poulter said. "It's always a gift and something I don't take for granted. It's just really fun to represent our country in a way that gets people together and that inspires more than divides. It's really special."

Looking to get into the qualification zone this week, the Dominican Republic secured two victories in Ottawa and another two in Istanbul. Outside hitter Brayelin Martínez is their most effective offensive weapon, ranking fourth in the VNL in points scored, with 144 – she’s also fifth in blocks with 20 points. On the backcourt, Yaneirys Rodriguez ranks third in the tournament, with 86 digs.

"We have many young players in our team this year," Martinez reacted. "So the most important thing for us is to be together all the time and get better and better. We need to keep working to improve, but also to be patient because we have many young players."

After a somewhat promising start in front of their home fans, in which they won two of their four matches, Canada struggled in Istanbul, dropping all four matches, including a pair of five-setters. Despite not having played in Türkiye two weeks ago, opposite Kiera Van Ryk continues to lead the VNL in aces, with 15. She’s also the team’s top scorer, with 89 points.

"We got back in the gym in Canada and worked on a few upgrades that will show something different this week," outside hitter Hilary Johnson remarked. "We're looking to build on our game, build on the progress we've made and hopefully add and play our best volleyball in Week 3."

Pushing to stay away from the bottom of the standings, Thailand got their only victory in the VNL 2025 so far in Beijing, but are winless in their last four, having lost all four of their encounters in Hong Kong. Opposite Pimpichaya Kokram is the team's leading scorer in the tournament, with 105 points. Setter Pornpun Guedpard, who ranks sixth in the position with 187 successful actions, is another pillar in the team.

"I think that last week showed us where we have to improve," Pimpichaya commented. "We went back to Thailand and got some rest, but also talked about where we needed to improve. This week is going to be fun for us, and I just want us to have fun and play together."

A busy Wednesday

The first day of matches at the College Park Center will be a busy one, with three encounters scheduled. Germany and Canada will appear in the first match of the day, set to take place at 12:30 local time (17:30 GMT), with the Dominican Republic and China following at 16:00 (21:00 GMT) and Thailand and the USA completing the schedule at 19:30 (00:30 GMT, Thursday).

For the next three days, just the two later timeslots will be used – Thursday will have Thailand vs. Germany and the Dominican Republic vs. USA, Friday will feature Thailand vs. the Dominican Republic and Canada vs. China and Saturday will include Germany vs. China and Canada vs. USA.

On Sunday, we’ll be back to three matches a day, with Germany and the Dominican Republic playing first, at 11:30 local time (16:30 GMT), Thailand and Canada meeting at 15:00 (20:00 GMT) and China and the United States ending the week, at 19:00 (00:00 GMT, Monday).

VNL 2025 – Match Schedule & Results

The third and last week of the VNL Preliminary Phase will also have matches in Apeldoorn, where hosts the Netherlands, Belgium, Czechia, Italy, Serbia and Türkiye will play, and in Chiba, where hosts Japan, Brazil, Bulgaria, France, Korea and Poland will be in action.

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