VNL on! Brazil cope with young Bulgaria to book first ticket to Lodz

The deciding third competition week in the women’s Volleyball Nations League got underway in Chiba on Wednesday with mighty Brazil taking four sets to down a very young Bulgaria and stamp the first ticket to the Finals in Lodz, Poland. The South Americans improved to an 8-1 win-loss record and 23 points and currently stand on top of the VNL table. The southern Europeans occupy 13^th place on 3-6 and 9.

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Without their experienced star players on the squad this week, Bulgaria seemed doomed against the powerful opponents, captained by their iconic outside hitter Gabriela Guimaraes (Gabi) and boasting a very solid line-up on the court, so it was a real miracle in the second set, when with some superb performances by outside Aleksandra Milanova in attack and defense and by Mariya Krivoshiyska in the middle, the European squad managed to wipe out the quadruple set point Brazil had at 24-20 and then deny the opponents one more opportunity to close the set before turning things around and leveling the match. The South American powerhouse did not allow any more miracles to happen in the game and took home the three points with a 3-1 (25-21, 27-29, 25-10, 25-19) victory.

Well supported by her Japanese fans on the stands, opposite Rosamaria Montibeller led the winners with 18 points. Outside Julia Bergmann added another 16. 22-year-old middle blocker Julia Kudiess raised five stuffs towards an 11-point tally. The other middle, Diana Alecrim, and Gabi also finished on 11 points each. Milanova was the best scorer of the match with 21 points for Bulgaria. 20-year-old opposite Mikaela Stoyanova and outside Emileta Racheva also reached the double digits with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

“I think we did an amazing job. We knew that their team was so good. They have an amazing block and amazing spikers, so we knew that there would be fighting for every point. So I am really happy with this win and that we keep growing,” Rosamaria told VBTV after the match. “I love Japan! After living here for two years, I am feeling at home. I saw a lot of people cheering for me and for our team, so it’s really good to be here again.”

Next on the court in this first competition day in Chiba will be Korea and Poland. Their match will serve off at 15:30 local time (06:30 UTC). Hosts Japan will then take on France at 19:20 (10:20) before VNL action continues with the matches in Apeldoorn and Arlington.

Volleyball Nations League 2025: full schedule and results

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