Six matches were played on the fourth day of the first week of the Men's Volleyball Nations League. Japan, Slovenia, Brazil, Bulgaria, USA, and Italy recorded victories, and the temporary standings before the last day of the opening tournaments are becoming increasingly interesting.

Japan continues flawless against China.

The Japanese national team achieved its third victory in the tournament in Linyi after defeating host China 3:1 (25:23, 25:22, 20:25, 25:21). The Japanese controlled the development of the match in the first two sets and secured a comfortable lead.
The Chinese brought back the intrigue after a strong third set, won 25:20, but failed to carry the momentum into the fourth set. Japan once again dictated its pace and closed the match at 25:21.
The statistics highlighted the superiority of the Asian team. The Japanese finished with 57 attack points against 47 for China and recorded an impressive 76 digs in defense against 57 for the hosts.
Ran Takahashi was the leader for the winners with 21 points, and Yuki Ishikawa added 12 more. For China, Zhang Z.J. was the top scorer with 18 points.

Slovenia survived after a comeback against Cuba.

Slovenia achieved its third success in the VNL, but after a serious battle against Cuba – 3:2 (25:15, 26:28, 19:25, 25:14, 15:11).
After a decisive first set, the Slovenians seemed to lose rhythm and allowed Cuba to turn the tide of the match. The Caribbeans won the second and third sets and came within one set of a big surprise.
However, Fabio Soli's team reacted in an impressive way. Slovenia dominated the fourth set and then showed greater composure in the tie-break.
Možič scored 25 points for the winners, and Mujanovič added 16. For Cuba, Cardenas and Nivaldo finished with 14 points each.

Brazil ended Serbia's winning streak.

In front of their home crowd in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil defeated Serbia 3:0 (25:22, 25:18, 25:22) and inflicted the first loss on "the Blues" in this year's edition of the tournament.
The Brazilians controlled the match almost entirely and did not allow their opponent, who rested some of their starters, to find consistency in attack. The first and third sets were the most contested, but in both cases, the Serbs only reached 22 points.
"Seleção" was more effective in attack, more stable in blocking, and better utilized their opponent's errors. This compensated for their lagging in some of the other statistical indicators.
Judson finished with 13 points for the winners, and Darlan added 10. For Serbia, Brborić scored 11 points.

Bulgaria came back against Argentina and continues its ascent.

The Bulgarian national team achieved its second consecutive victory after coming back against Argentina with a score of 3:1 (23:25, 25:23, 25:15, 25:23) in Brazil.
After a dramatically lost first set, Gianlorenzo Blengini's players gradually imposed their will on the court. The second set was won after a tough battle, and the third was entirely under the control of the Bulgarians.
The fourth set was particularly impressive, in which Bulgaria erased a 10:14 deficit and achieved a valuable success. The nationals outperformed their opponent in attack, blocking, and serving, and also recorded more digs in defense.
Top scorer for Bulgaria was Aleksandar Nikolov with 26 points, once again leading the team in the most crucial moments of the match. Martin Atanasov also had a strong game, adding 13 points. For Argentina, Luciano Vicentin became the top scorer with 16 points, and Manuel Armoa finished with 11 points.
The victory propelled Bulgaria into the top eight teams in the temporary standings and left excellent chances for a strong finish to the first week.

USA made a spectacular comeback against Canada

The United States recorded a third consecutive victory after a dramatic 3:2 (20:25, 33:35, 26:24, 25:21, 15:11) success over host Canada in Ottawa.
The Canadians were very close to a clean sweep after taking a 2:0 lead in sets. The second set turned into a true marathon and ended 35:33 in favor of the hosts.
However, the Americans showed character and gradually turned the tide of the match. After a narrow 26:24 in the third set, they dominated in the next two parts.
An interesting moment occurred in the third set when the legendary libero Erik Shoji served and brought an important break for his team. This was possible because the American was listed not as a libero, but as an outside hitter. The top scorer in the match was Canadian Wassenaar-Ketzynski with 21 points. Hartke finished with the biggest contribution to the USA's success with 18 points, and McHenry added 15. For the hosts, Maar scored 16 points.

Italy left no chance for Turkey

Italy achieved a second consecutive victory after a convincing 3:0 (29:27, 25:14, 25:20) against Turkey in Ottawa.
The first set was the only truly contested moment in the match. The Turks put up serious resistance but failed to capitalize on their opportunities at the end of the part.
After that, the world champions exerted complete superiority. Ferdinando De Giorgi's team dominated in all key elements and deservedly achieved the clean sweep.
Francesco Sani was the top scorer with 16 points, also adding five successful blocks. Mattia Bottolo and Alessandro Bovolenta scored 11 points each.
For Turkey, Adis Lagumdzija scored the most points – 9, while Bayram and Bedirhan finished with 8 points each.

Temporary standings before the last day of the first tournaments

Brazil is the only team with a maximum of 9 points after three wins and enters the final day as the leader. USA and Japan also remain undefeated but are trailing due to dropped points in five-set matches. Bulgaria is in the top eight zone with 6 points and has an excellent opportunity to finish the week even higher with another success. At the bottom, Argentina remains the only team without a win and without any points after its first three matches.