The second day of the second week of the Women's Volleyball Nations League offered six interesting matches in Pasig City, Bangkok, and Ankara. Leaders Brazil, Italy, Poland, and USA continued their successful march towards the Final Eight, while hosts Thailand delighted their fans with a convincing victory over Bulgaria. The most dramatic clash was between Italy and Serbia, where the reigning VNL champions achieved success after a five-set battle.

USA – Czech Republic 3:0 (25:17, 25:12, 25:16)

The US Women's National Team recorded its fifth victory in the tournament after a decisive success over the Czech Republic. The Americans completely controlled the course of the match and did not allow their opponent to come close to a comeback.
The difference was most visible in attack and blocking, where the US team dominated throughout the match. The Americans scored 40 points from attack against 27 for the Czech Republic and added another 12 points from blocks against only 5 for their opponent.
The Czechs had better statistics in reception and digs in defense, but they failed to compensate for the huge deficit in scoring points. The USA also took advantage of more opponent errors to achieve the clear victory.
Thompson was the top scorer for the winners with 15 points, while Ogbogu added 11. For the Czech Republic, Jehlářová finished with 8 points, and Koulisiani scored 7.

Ukraine – Poland 1:3 (21:25, 13:25, 25:22, 23:25)

Poland had to put in serious effort against a resilient Ukrainian team to secure their fifth victory in the VNL. After convincing first two sets, the Polish women seemed close to an easy win, but the Ukrainians brought back the intrigue.
The third set was won by Ukraine after an improvement in reception and attack, and in the fourth set, the team was even close to taking the match to a tie-break. However, Poland demonstrated more class in crucial moments and closed out the match with a 25:23 score.
The Polish women had a clear superiority in attack, scoring 62 points against 47 for their opponent. Ukraine, on the other hand, was better in blocking and reception.
Magdalena Stysiak was the top scorer of the match with an impressive 27 points. For Ukraine, Svitlana Dorsman finished with 14 points, and Hanna Artyshuk added 13.

Italy – Serbia 3:2 (25:14, 25:15, 18:25, 21:25, 15:12)

The Olympic champions from Italy continued their march towards the Finals after a dramatic victory over Serbia. Julio Velasco's protégées seemed unstoppable in the first two sets, which they won convincingly.
After that, the Serbians raised their level and managed to equalize the score to 2:2 sets. Italy lost a comfortable lead in the fourth set and had to decide everything in a tie-break.
In the decisive fifth set, "Squadra Azzurra" once again showed character and achieved success with strong play in blocking and serving. The Italians finished with an impressive 16 points from blocks against 11 for their opponent.
Josephine Obossa was the top scorer for Italy with 16 points, Sara Fahr added 18, while Loveth Omoruyi and Linda Nwakalor made important contributions in crucial moments. For Serbia, Cajic was the top scorer with 19 points.

Belgium – Brazil 2:3 (20:25, 25:22, 25:23, 22:25, 13:15)

Belgium was just a few points away from one of the biggest surprises in this year's edition of the tournament, but Brazil survived after a dramatic tie-break.
After losing the first set, the Belgians showed exceptional character and turned the score to 2:1 sets. Without star Britt Herbots, young Pauline Martin and Tea Radovic led the team to an excellent performance against one of the title favorites.
In the fourth set, Brazil restored equality, and in the tie-break, they even overcame a 7:9 deficit. The South Americans demonstrated more experience in crucial moments and achieved their sixth consecutive victory.
Belgium was better in defensive metrics and reception, but Brazil scored more points from attack, which proved decisive.
Pauline Martin finished with 22 points for Belgium, and Tea Radovic added 18. For Brazil, Julia Bergman scored 19 points, and Ana Cristina contributed 16.

Bulgaria – Thailand 0:3 (22:25, 20:25, 17:25)

The Bulgarian national team suffered a heavy defeat against host Thailand and recorded its fifth loss since the start of the tournament.
The most painful proved to be the first set, in which the Bulgarians led 19:13, but conceded a series of six consecutive points and allowed the hosts to turn the tide. After the missed opportunity, the initiative shifted entirely to the Asian team.
Thailand was more effective in attack and serving, and their excellent defensive work made it maximally difficult for the Bulgarian attackers. In the third set, the hosts completely controlled the match and closed it without serious difficulties.
For Bulgaria, Mira Paskova and Alexandra Milanova were the top scorers with 11 points each. For Thailand, the main scorers registered a total of 39 points and were key to the decisive victory.

Turkey – France 3:0 (25:17, 25:23, 25:20)

European champion Turkey achieved its second victory in front of its home crowd in Ankara after a clean sweep against France.
Interestingly in the statistics, both teams scored 41 points from attack. The difference came from the huge number of errors by the French women, who gifted 25 points to their opponent against only 11 in the opposite direction.
France was better in reception and saved balls in defense, but could not capitalize on this advantage. The Turkish women showed higher efficiency in key rallies and deservedly achieved success.
Melissa Vargas was once again the leader for the hosts with 17 points, and Sinead Kusal added 10. For France, Martin finished with 11 points.

Changes in the world rankings

The second day of the tournament brought limited, but important changes in the world rankings. Thailand recorded the most significant progress, climbing five positions and now occupying 20th place in the world. The US national team also moved one position up and is now sixth.
The biggest regression of the day was for Bulgaria. The loss to Thailand dropped Marcelo Abbondanza's team by four places to 26th position in the world rankings.
For all other national teams that participated in yesterday's matches, there were no changes in the standings.

Provisional standings in the VNL after the second day of the second week

Brazil remains the only undefeated team in the tournament after six played matches. Italy and USA continue to pursue the leader, while the battle for the Top 8 spots becomes increasingly fierce. In the lower part of the table, Bulgaria remains in a serious risk zone and needs positive results in the remaining matches of the tournament.

Schedule for today's VNL matches

• Dominican Republic – Serbia (11:00 AM)

• Ukraine – Netherlands (1:00 PM)

• Japan – Czech Republic (3:00 PM)

• France – China (4:00 PM)

• Bulgaria – Canada (4:30 PM)

• Belgium – Germany (7:30 PM)

The eyes of Bulgarian fans will be focused on the match against Canada in Bangkok, where the national team will be looking for only their second victory in this year's edition of the Volleyball Nations League.