The third competitive day of the Women's Volleyball Nations League brought new interesting results and began to outline the first trends in the battle for spots in the Final Tournament. After the six matches played, Italy, Brazil, and Japan remain the only teams with a perfect record of 3 wins and 9 points each.
Belgium achieved one of the most dramatic victories of the day, making an impressive comeback against Thailand and winning 3:2(20:25,22:25,25:23,25:22,16:14). The Belgians were down 0:2 sets but showed character and secured their first success in this year's edition of the competition.
A record attendance marked the match between China and Serbia in Nanjing. In front of nearly 18,000 spectators, the hosts gave no chances to the Serbians and won 3:0(25:21,25:21,25:21), to record their second consecutive victory and climb into the top eight of the provisional standings.
Bulgaria failed to oppose one of the big favorites in the tournament and lost to Brazil 0:3(23:25,17:25,13:25). In the first set, Marcelo Abbondanza's girls were completely even, but after that, the class and depth of the "Seleção" squad decisively tipped the scales.
Olympic and world champion Italy continued its winning march, prevailing over European champion Turkey 3:1(25:16,28:26,25:19,25:15). The Italians once again showed why they are leaders in the world ranking, while the Turks, participating with a rejuvenated squad, already have two losses since the start of the tournament.
Canada delighted its fans in Quebec with a 3:1(21:25,25:20,25:19,28:26) victory over France. After losing the first set, the hosts managed to turn the tide of the match and recorded their second win, which moved them up to sixth place in the provisional standings.
Japan also remained undefeated, beating Germany 3:0(25:20,25:15,26:24). The Asians continue to impress with stability in all elements and are deservedly among the three teams with a maximum record after the third day.

Provisional Standings in the Volleyball Nations League

After three matches played, Italy, Brazil, and Japan are at the top with a maximum of 9 points each. Bulgaria occupies 13th place with one win and 3 points, remaining in contention to climb the standings before its last match of the first week. The excellent performance of the Czech Republic, holding a prestigious fifth position, is also noteworthy.

FIVB World Ranking (Top 10)

Bulgaria occupies 21st place in the world ranking with 159.23 points. An interesting fact is that all teams from the top 10 places in the world ranking are participating in this year's Nations League, and nine of them are also among the top 13 teams in the provisional standings after the third day.

The only representative of the world Top 10 who is currently outside the top 13 places in the VNL is Turkey, occupying 14th position after two losses in their first three matches. On the other hand, the biggest pleasant surprise is the Czech Republic – No. 13 in the world ranking, but already in fifth place in the provisional tournament standings after an impressive start to the competition.