Serbia start title defense on the right foot

Two-time FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship defending champions Serbia started their title defense on the right foot, sweeping Ukraine on Saturday in their first match in the 2025 edition of the tournament.

The Europeans got on the court in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, and delivered a consistently strong performance to dominate European rivals Ukraine to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-17) victory on the first day of matches in Pool H.

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The Most Valuable Player in both world titles won by Serbia, star opposite Tijana Bošković was the team’s leading scorer, producing 18 points (17 kills, one block). Outside hitter Aleksandra Uzelac also stood out in the Serbian debut, contributing 15 points (12 kills, three aces).

“We started the World Championship in the right way,” Bošković. “Opening matches are always difficult, but I think we did well, we dominated and won in three sets. Our team is younger now than it was in the last two editions, so every match is important for us and makes the team progress. It feels good to play with the champion’s badge in our jersey, but we don’t feel any extra pressure for it.”

Opposite Anna Artyshuk was the centerpiece in Ukraine’s offense, getting a team-high 13 points (12 kills, one ace). Outside hitter Oleksandra Milenko came next, with nine, all obtained in kills.

“I think that today we showed how well we can play against the top teams,” Milenko remarked. “We did a good job, but we made too many errors. They have more experience, and maybe that was a factor, but it was a good experience for us, and we’ll learn from it. For the next matches, we need to push more and be better with our serving and blocking because this is the only way for us to beat the teams that we’re going to face here.”

With a solid performance, Serbia got the better of Ukraine in every area of the game, dominating in kills (46 to 39), blocks (seven to two) and aces (six to one). The defending champions also made fewer errors (15 to 16).

Japan start strong and sweep Cameroon

Also aiming at winning a medal in Thailand, Asian powerhouse Japan had a strong start to their campaign in Bangkok, beating Cameroon 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-19) in their first Pool H match.

Young opposite Miku Akimoto carried the Japanese offense in their debut – the 19-year-old hitter delivered 18 points, with 11 kills, four aces and one block. Team captain and outside hitter Mayu Ishikawa contributed 11, with nine kills and two aces.

On the Cameroonian side, opposite Carine Blamdaî was the only player to get to double digits, tallying 11 points, with eight kills, two blocks and one ace.

2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship: full schedule and results

Pool H will resume on Monday, when the second round of matches will be held in the Thai capital – Japan and Ukraine get on the court first, at 17:00 local time (10:00 GMT), with Serbia and Cameroon playing later, at 20:30 (13:30 GMT).

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