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Article wrote by Danijel from Ljbljana for Volleytimes, please respect his job.
Second day of second week of Volleyball Nations League 2026 has been completed today in three European cities: Gliwice (Poland), Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Orléans (France).
Ukraine produced one of their best performances ever, sweeping world champions Italy in just three sets (25:23, 25:19, 25:16) in Pool 6 action at Ljubljana’s Stožice Arena.
An excellent Ukraine had a super team performance to hand the rivals their second defeat of the week after yesterday against Bulgaria, at tie break.
The opening set was the only one tightly contested, but Ukraine held composure in the decisive stages. Captain Oleh Plotnytskyi put down the decisive attack to seal the set after Italy had briefly fought back to take the lead midway through.
And then Ukraine took a firm control of the match: a strong start to the second set allowed Raúl Lozano’s guys to dictate the rhythm, with Italy unable to react despite reducing the deficit on several occasions. However the momentum carried into the third set, where Ukraine remained in command throughout it before comfortably closing out the match and never looked back.
Opposite Vasyl Tupchii led all scorers with 16 points through 67% in attack, while Oleh Plotnytskyi added 15 through 52% in attack, 3 aces and 1 block, and Dmytro Yanchuk tallied 13. Mattia Bottolo was Italy’s most prolific player with 11 points.
“We have to be really happy, because we are writing history. We are thankful to the fans and to all Ukrainian people,” Ukraine’s setter Yurii Synytsia told after the game. “It’s all about our preparation for this competition. We trained hard to be able to face any team successfully.”
“This is a great lesson for us. You can lose against every team and that shows how strong the teams really are,” said Mattia Bottolo.
“We have to step up. We have to improve. We cannot just play at an average level, but chase the desire to win and to show how powerful Italy is now. We have to wear the Italian jersey with pride and start playing as we normally do.”
The days ended with a thrilling battle between hosts Slovenia and Bulgaria, ended 3-2 (19:25, 25:21, 17:25, 26:24, 15:6)
In a gripping clash, the hosts twice found themselves trailing against the reigning world silver medalists but responded with a strong performance, edging the fourth set before destroying the rivals 15-6 in the decisive fifth.
Nik Mujanovic, who started the game as outside hitter and, after a break in the beach, return as opposite, led Slovenia’s attack with 17 points, while Rok Mozic also contributed with 15 and Toncek Stern added 13. Bulgaria’s Aleksandar Nikolov finished as the match’s top scorer with 28 points.
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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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