The evening at TD Place in Ottawa turned into a real volleyball spectacle – a mix of Caribbean drama and Eastern power. The Dominicans went through a five-set rollercoaster to break the revamped Netherlands team, and an hour later, the Japanese demonstrated textbook defense, sweeping aside the helpless world champions from Serbia. The emotions did not subside for a moment, and the stakes – spots in the Final Eight of VNL 2025 – made every point won even more invaluable.
Dominican Republic – Netherlands 3:2(22:25, 25:19, 28:26, 22:25, 15:13)
The 'Queens of the Caribbean' went through a true test of nerves.
First set– distracted reception by the Dominicans and a confident attacking tandemIndy Baijens / Iris Vosgive the 'Oranjes' an advantage (22:25).
Second– Gaila Gonzalez upped the tempo, Brayelin Elizabeth Martinez doubled her from Zone 4, and the score was quickly tied (25:19).
Third– continuous exchange of leads; at 26:26, Martinez serves an ace, and the next attack is a block-out – 28:26.
Fourth– at 18:14 for the Caribbean team, coach Felix Koslowski brings in Lauke van de Voorde; a serving streak, Dambrink finishes the rumble, and the set goes to the Netherlands (22:25).
Tie-break– Dominican Republic pulls ahead 8:5, but the Dutch catch up to 11:11. The last word is again Martinez's – a powerful diagonal for 15:13 and the team's second tournament success.
Heroes of the evening:
Brayelin Martinez – 26 pts, 2 aces, 1 block
Gaila Gonzalez – 25 pts, 48% efficiency
Elles Dambrink - 22 pts for the Netherlands
Serbia - Japan 0:3
Without Tijana Boskovic, the European champions faced a Japanese wall.
Start- fast pace, almost no service errors from the Asians; Yukiko Wada makes a series of three blocks and the score jumps to 7:4.
Second game- Hena Kurtagic reduces with an ace (7:6), but every attempt to erase the difference is shattered by the brilliant defense of "Sakura". Yoshino Sato comes off the bench and adds important counter-attacks (25:21).
Third- the Serbians are already broken; Ishikawa dictates the quick combinations, and Seki's serve breaks their reception. The difference inexorably swells to 12 points (13:25).
The key: 46% positive reception for Japan versus only 28% for Serbia, plus 8 Japanese blocks versus 3 Serbian.
Why these matches are important
Dominican Republicshowed character and bench depth - a warning to anyone who underestimates the "queens" after the veterans left.
Netherlandsproved that the "golden generation" can have continuity - Dambrink and Baijens are already leading figures.
Serbiaurgently needs to find a new attacker No. 1 while waiting for Boskovic; otherwise even mediocre teams will pressure them.
Japanemerges as the best-organized defensive team this week - impressive collective play, without unnecessary errors.
The Bulgarian Corner
Our "lionesses" already have 1 win (3:1 against Dominican Republic) and 1 loss (2:3 against Canada). The Serbian collapse against Japan suggests that our match with Serbia could be quite tough, as our western neighbors are backed against the wall. If Tony Zetova's girls maintain the aggression from their success against "Reinas", the chance for another victory is entirely real.
Next round:
*June 7, 7:30 PM local / 2:30 AM Bulgarian time - Bulgaria vs. Serbia.
Enough reasons to set our alarms early! 🇧🇬
photos:volleyballworld.com
