Italy continues its winning streak in the Volleyball Nations League: Eighth consecutive victory and leadership in the world rankings
The Italian women's national volleyball team solidified its dominance on the international stage with another convincing performance in the second week of the Volleyball Nations League. The "Azzurre" defeated host China 3-0 (25-21, 32-30, 25-11) in the packed Kai Tak Arena in Hong Kong in front of nearly 10,000 Chinese fans, achieving their eighth consecutive victory in this year's VNL – eight out of eight possible.
Undefeated for a year now
With this success, Italy not only solidified its leadership in the VNL overall standings but also extended its incredible streak of22 consecutive victories in official matches under the auspices of FIVB and CEV. The streak began exactly a year ago in Macau, precisely against China, and coincided with the symbolic date of June 22, 2024, when the Italians defeated Poland in the semi-finals in Bangkok and climbed to the first place in the world rankings – a position they have not relinquished to this day.
This was followed by only triumphs – in the third week of the VNL in Fukuoka, the finals in Bangkok, and the golden run at the Olympic Games in Paris. The latest victim on the list turned out to be China, which, despite a strong start and a battle up to 32:30 in the second set, could not withstand the strength of the "squadra".
Match Statistics:
Attacks: Italy – 62, China – 47
Blocks: Italy – 5, China – 2
Service aces: 1 for each team
Opponent errors: Italy – 14, China – 12
Total points: Italy – 82, China – 62
Individual accolades:
Top Scorer: Paola Egonu (Italy) with 21 points
Best for China: Dong Y. H. with 19 points
Solid contribution from Degradi (Italy) – 14 points
Towards the Finals in Lodz
After an excellent run, Italy has almost certainly secured its participation in the finals in Lodz, Poland (July 9–13), with the final week of the group stage still to come in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
