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Article wrote by Danilo from Orléans for Volleytimes, please respect his job.
The second competition week in the Volleyball Nations League 2026 continues today with second day in three cities in the European Union – Gliwice in Poland, Ljubljana in Slovenia and Orléans in France, with 2 games per city.
Predictions respected in first clash in Orléans, with USA defeating a combative Iran in straight sets (23:25, 20:25, 29:31), extending their winning run in the competition after a clash that was far closer than the final score suggested.
The Americans improved to 5-1 after taking the opening set 25-23, pulling away in the second 25-20, and surviving a tense third-set battle before sealing a decisive 31-29 victory.
Cole Hartke and veteran Matt Anderson led the winners offense with 18 points each, while Ethan Champlin added 11 points, and Jeff Jendryk left the court also in double digit with 10.
For Iran, Ali Haghparast led the score with 16 points, while Ali Hajipour and Morteza Sharifi added 15 points each.
Iran pushed the Americans to the limit in the final set and earned three opportunities to re-open the game, but the U.S. remained composed in the decisive stages to close the game.
“It is good for us to be in those very close situations,” said head coach Karch Kiraly after the match. “I thought our team responded really well when we were under pressure.”
A result that is worth, at least temporarily, the top of the standings at +1 from Japan (who tomorrow will face Iran), the only undefeated team remained in the competition!
MORE TO FOLLOW
In the evening, hosts France celebrated another tie break win surviving to Cuba and winning the game with the score of 3-2 (25:22, 21:25, 25:27, 25:20, 15:13).
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🏐| FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2026 | Games of the day
— Thursday | June 25, 2026—
| Pool 5 – Week 2 – Gliwice 🇵🇱
• 16.30 (Local Time) | China – Belgium 1-3 (28:26, 21:25, 21:25, 20:25)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Poland – Türkiye 3-2 (26:28, 25:19, 25:21, 19:25, 16:11)
| Pool 6 – Week 2 – Ljubljana 🇸🇮
• 16.30 (Local Time) | Ukraine – Italy 3-0 (25:23, 25:19, 25:16)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 20.30 (Local Time) | Slovenia – Bulgaria 3-2 (19:25, 25:21, 17:25, 26:24, 15:6)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
👉🏼 Pool 4 – Week 2 – Orléans 🇫🇷
• 17.00 (Local Time) | Iran – USA 0-3 (23:25, 20:25, 29:31)
• 20.30 (Local Time) | France – Cuba 3-2 (25:22, 21:25, 25:27, 25:20, 15:13)
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🏐| STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. USA 15
2. Japan 14
3. Ukraine 13
4. Slovenia 11
5. Brazil 11
6. Poland 11
7. Italy 10
8. Serbia 9
9. Türkiye 9
10. Belgium 9
11. Bulgaria 9
12. France 6
13. Germany 6
14. Canada 6
15. Iran 5
16. China 4
17. Argentina 3
18. Cuba 2
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🏐| NEXT GAMES
— Friday | June 26, 2026—
| Pool 5 – Week 2 – Gliwice 🇵🇱
• 16.30 (Local Time) | China – Argentina
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Belgium – Germany
| Pool 6 – Week 2 – Ljubljana 🇸🇮
• 16.30 (Local Time) | Ukraine – Canada
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Brazil – Italy
| Pool 4 – Week 2 – Orléans 🇫🇷
• 17.00 (Local Time) | Iran – Japan
• 20.30 (Local Time) | Serbia – Cuba
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