Revamped Brazil sweep Iran in VNL debut

Brazil’s rebuilding process after the Paris Olympics started well for the South Americans, who on Wednesday won their opening match in the Volleyball Nations League 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, claiming their first victory with their new squad.

Backed by thousands of fans at the Maracanãzinho stadium, the Brazilians produced a dominant performance to sweep Iran in the first of their four matches in the first week of the tournament. Slovenia and VNL rookies Ukraine also scored wins on Wednesday in Brazil.

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Despite no longer counting on some of the pillars of the team in the last decade, such as setter Bruno Rezende, middle blocker Lucas Saatkamp, outside hitter Yoandy Leal and libero Thales Hoss, the Brazilians displayed impressive consistency to dominate the Iranians from start to finish and please their fans with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-18) victory in Rio.

One of the nine players who were in Paris to be part of the Brazilian squad in the VNL 2025, star opposite Darlan Souza was the most productive player on the court against the Iranians, producing a match-high 16 points (15 kills, one block). Previously a backup in the team, middle blocker Judson Nunes had an excellent all-around performance, getting to ten points with four kills, three blocks and three aces.

“We talked a lot before the match about how to deal with the pressure and the anxiety in the first few points because we knew they would be difficult for us,” Judson said. “We tried to bring a good energy to the court, but also to stay grounded so we could execute what we had planned. We managed to keep our energy level elevated the entire time and that was critical for our victory.”

Iran, who have a new coach in Italian Roberto Piazza, had outside hitters Morteza Sharifi and Poriya Firouzjah as their leading scorers with nine and eight points, respectively.

Slovenia beat Cuba

Currently in third place in the FIVB World Rankings, Slovenia also kicked off their campaign in Brazil with a positive result. The Europeans faced Cuba in the last match of the day in Rio and prevailed 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-18, 25-15), picking up their first three points in the VNL 2025.

Star outside hitter Rok Možič was unstoppable for the Slovenians, producing a match-high 24 points, with 20 kills, three blocks and one ace. Team captain and fellow outside hitter Tine Urnaut added 16 (13 kills, two blocks, one ace), while opposite Tonček Štern registered 13 (12 kills, one block).

Outside hitter Marlon Yant scored 19 (14 kills, four blocks, one ace) for the Caribbean, with opposite Jose Masso getting 12 (nine kills, two aces, one block).

Earlier on Wednesday, Ukraine had a sensational debut in the VNL, winning their first-ever match in the tournament by taking the United States down 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-23) at the Maracanãzinho.

VNL 2025 – Match Schedule & Results

Thursday’s match schedule in Rio will have Brazil facing Cuba at 17:30 local time (20:30 GMT) and the United States and Iran playing later, at 21:00 (00:00 GMT, Friday).

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