VNL 2025: Italy and Brazil to semifinals!

Italy’s volleyball team continued their impressive run in the 2025 Volleyball Nations League after a Cuba 3-1 (25:18, 25:19, 20:25, 25:21) victory in the opening quarterfinal of the Finals at the Beilun Sport and Arts Centre in Ningbo, China to secure the first ticket for semifinals scheduled on August 2.
With this success, Italy celebrated their 11th victory of the tournament, increasing their dominant performances in the preliminary rounds in Canada, USA, and Slovenia.
The team now awaits their semifinal opponent, to be determined after the France – Slovenia match tomorrow, July 31.
Italy quickly took control in the first two sets, showing good performance in attack and solid defense, led by Alessandro Michieletto who left the court with 18 points to his name, well supported by wKamil Rychlicki, who added 16. After losing momentum in the third set, they bounced back in the fourth, closing the match with renewed intensity and concentration.

“It was a difficult match because Cuba can beat anyone, but we stayed calm and pushed hard in the right moments,” said Michieletto after the match.

Cuba, on the other hand, led the match in total attacks with 55 spike points to Italy’s 42 but were undone by 37 unforced errors. Marlon Yant once again led the charge with 22 points but lacked the team support needed to win the game.

“We gave everything today, but Italy played smarter,” said Cuban middle blocker Javier Concepcion. “We’ll regroup for the World Championship.”

Meanwhile, Brazil also booked their place in the semifinals with a thrilling 3-1 (29:31, 25:19, 25:16, 25:21) comeback win over hosts China.
Despite a silent start and the absence of middle blocker Judson Nunes due to a back injury, Brasil, under the command of head coach Bernardinho, showed their resilience and, after dropping the first set in a tense 39-minutes battle, they regrouped, improving their attack, and taking complete control of the game.
Alan Souza was the man of the match scoring 26 points, while Lukas Bergmann and Matheus Bispo dos Santos also contributed with 10 and 9 respectively.
For China, opposite Zihua Wen was the most prolific player with 15 points.
Brazil started strong in the opening set but allowed the rivals to rally back with aggressive blocks and better attacking rhythm. The home crowd pushed the Chinese team forward, capitalizing on Brazil’s errors.
However, the tide shifted in the second set, above all thanks to a powerful serving run by setter Fernando Kreling and a key substitution, with Ricardo Lucarelli who replaced Henrique Honorato. From there, Brazil maintained momentum dominating third set from start to finish and fought off a strong Chinese start in the fourth before closing the match.
With this win, Brazil advances to Saturday’s semifinal, where they’ll face the winner of Thursday’s clash between Japan and Poland.

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🏐FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2025 | Quarterfinals – Ningbo Beilun – China 🇨🇳