VNL 2025

Super star Gabi on court as thousands cheer on in Istanbul

Brazil shut out Dominican Republic for sixth VNL 2025 win

Published 03:43, 21 Jun 2025

Dominican Republic (DOM) vs. Brazil (BRA) women - Pool 4 - Preliminary Phase #47870202

Gabi back on court with her Brazilian teammates

Brazilian super star Gabriela Guimaraes (Gabi) entered the court for the first time in women’s Volleyball Nations League action this season. She was cheered on by thousands of her fans in Istanbul, where she spent five seasons of her club career, playing for VakifBank Istanbul, as she was subbed in during the third set of Brazil’s straight-set win over the Dominican Republic on Saturday. The South American powerhouse improved to a 6-1 win-loss record and 17 points, and stands third in the current VNL standings. The Dominican Republic occupy ninth place, just below the cut-off for the Finals for now, on 3-4 and 10.

Watch the Volleyball Nations League on VBTV

The score was 19-16 Brazil’s way, when Gabi made her grand appearance and the crowd erupted in cheers. She stayed on through the end, which came with the monster block, in which she assisted 22-year-old middle blocker Julia Kudiess to close the match at a convincing 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-20).

Julia contributed a total of five kill blocks, while 21-year-old outside Ana Cristina de Souza led the way with a match-high 26 points. Her tally featured two aces, a kill block and a 52% success rate in attack. Her cross-court teammate Julia Bergmann added another 11 kills in attack.

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Volleyball World (@volleyballworld)

“It’s always good to be back, especially with my national team. It’s an honor for me,” Gabi told VBTV right after the end of the match. “Especially with these girls, you know – we have new players, a new generation – that’s a team that wants to work. The players are so young, but take responsibility. You can see Ana Cristina, Julia… taking their place and doing their job so well. It has been nice to see the energy of the team, how much they have been fighting for every point. So I am proud and happy to be back, and I’ll start to work even harder. We know that now the first most important thing is to qualify for the Finals. It’s not easy. We are facing the best teams in the world, especially this week. Tomorrow we play against Turkey, so it will be a really tough match in a crowded gym, for sure. And we know that we need to do even better. It will be an incredible match!”

Three players reached the double digits among the Dominican Republic’s scorers. Outside hitter Yonkaira Pena put away 13 points, including two aces and a block. Outside Brayelin Martinez and opposite Gaila Gonzalez added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

“I am proud because I am doing a good job and my team is helping me so much,” Brayelin Martinez commented on the fact that she has scored well over a hundred points in the VNL so far this season. “I will keep going, try to improve my game and help my team win more matches. Regardless of the situation, we always stick together and support each other, and I am so proud of that.”

Meanwhile, the VNL competition day in Istanbul will continue with Korea challenging the home team Turkiye at 19:30 local time (16:30 UTC). The Netherlands and USA are currently playing in Belgrade, where later on, a match between France and hosts Serbia will serve off at 20:00 (18:00).