USA vs. China, Italy vs. the Netherlands, Brazil vs. Japan and Türkiye vs. Canada will be the matchups in Macao
Published 07:58, 12 Jul 2026
Dana Rettke celebrates as the USA beat Brazil to confirm the top seed for the Finals
Having the United States at the top of the standings and Canada and Japan booking the last tickets for the Finals, the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2026 Preliminary Phase ended on Sunday with matches in three host cities.
The three national teams will be joined by Italy, Brazil, Türkiye, the Netherlands and hosts China in the decisive stage of the tournament, which will take place in Macao from July 22-28.
The final placements of the eight qualified teams determined the matchups of the quarterfinal round, which will have top-ranked the United States facing hosts China, second-placed Italy meeting seventh-placed the Netherlands, third-placed Brazil playing sixth-placed Japan and fourth-placed Türkiye going against fifth-placed Canada.
Three-time VNL champions USA clinched the top seed after taking down Brazil 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-16) in the first match of the day in Osaka, Japan. With that, the Americans got to ten wins and 29 points, while the Brazilians continued with nine victories and 26 points, ending up in third place.
USA 🇺🇸 vs. Brazil 🇧🇷 - Highlights | Week 3 | Women's VNL 2026
Olympic medalist outside hitter Avery Skinner delivered a season-best 21 points (18 kills, three blocks) in the match, while Olympic champion opposite Jordan Thompson contributed another 16 (14 kills, two blocks) in the American victory.
"Finishing first was not something we had to think about coming in, but we knew that winning this game and taking all three points would put us in a good spot," Skinner said. "Brazil is an amazing team, so it's a really good win today for us. Things were going well in the third set, but we know that they're really good and could come back, so for us, it was about being locked in on every point and not giving them a way out."
Back-to-back defending champions Italy also ended their Preliminary Phase campaign with a win, but had to work harder, needing all five sets and 28 points (24 kills, two blocks, two aces) from star opposite Ekaterina Antropova to beat China 3-2 (25-19, 21-25, 22-25, 25-12, 15-12) in Hong Kong. With that, they finished second in the VNL standings with ten wins and 28 points, while China were ninth with six wins and 19 points - they qualified for the Finals as the host country.
Back in Osaka, Türkiye clinched fourth place with nine wins and 25 points thanks to their 3-1 (25-27, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22) comeback win over 14th-placed Thailand, earned with a strong blocking performance that generated 18 points. Star opposite Melissa Vargas topped all scorers with 25 points (22 kills, three blocks).
Also guaranteed in the Finals, the Netherlands faced Serbia in the last match of the day but couldn't improve their position in the standings, losing 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-15) and finishing seventh with seven wins and 21 points. Outside hitter Aleksandra Uzelac scored 17 points (12 kills, three blocks, two aces) for the Serbians, who ended the Preliminary Phase in 11th place with five wins and 20 points.
The most exciting encounter of the day had Japan and Poland competing for the last spot in the Finals in a head-to-head match that had the Asians producing an incredible reverse sweep to triumph 3-2 (20-25, 14-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-13) in Osaka and qualify in sixth place with eight wins and 21 points. Opposite Yukiko Wada played a key role in the Japanese victory with 27 points (26 kills, one block).
Earlier, Canada topped the Dominican Republic 3-1 (25-20, 17-25, 25-22, 25-18) in Hong Kong to advance in fifth place with eight wins and 24 points. Opposite Kiera Van Ryk, with 21 points (18 kills, three aces), and outside hitter Alexa Gray, with 20 (19 kills, one block), carried the Canadian offense in the match. The Dominicans were 15th with three wins and 11 points.
Also in Hong Kong, 16th-placed Ukraine ended their first-ever VNL campaign with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-13) victory over 13th-placed Belgium. Outside hitters Oleksandra Milenko and Valeriia Nudha and middle blocker Diana Meliushkyna each scored ten points in the match.
Two other matches were held in Belgrade on Sunday, with tenth-placed Czechia overcoming 17th-placed France 3-2 (25-12, 21-25, 22-25, 25-17, 20-18) and 12th-placed Germany sweeping 18th-placed Bulgaria 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-15).
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