An exciting five-game battle unfolded in Istanbul during the second weekend of the Women's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) – Pool 4. The Dominican Republic team achieved a difficult but extremely important 3:2 (19-25, 25-17, 19-25, 25-20, 16-14) victory over the South Korean squad.

Match statistics

The match was marked by a high level of emotions and frequent comebacks. South Korea started confidently, taking the first and third sets, but the Dominicans showed character and stable play in key moments, especially in the tie-break.

Key indicators:

• Attacks:Korea – 63 | Dominican Republic – 60

• Block:Korea – 8 | Dominican Republic – 16

• Serve:Korea – 9 aces | Dominican Republic – 4 aces

• Total points:Korea – 101 | Dominican Republic – 104

The most effective player for the winners wasBriceño Martínez (№20)with 24 points, whileBrayelin Martínez (№23)added 22. For Korea, Soyoung (№11) and Sohwi (№97) stood out with 20 points each.

Standings after the match

The victory propelled the Dominican Republic to ninth place in the VNL temporary standings with a record of:

• 4 wins, 9 points

• Game ratio: 0.722

• Point ratio: 0.966

South Korea continues to struggle and remains at the bottom - seventeenth:

• 1 win, 4 losses

• Game ratio: 0.347

• Point ratio: 0.785

Following this week's results,Bulgaria dropped to 13th placewith:

• 3 wins, 9 points

• Game ratio: 0.700

• Point ratio: 0.887

What's next?

One more weekend remains until the end of the preliminary phase. Dominicana continues to fight for a spot in the final phase, while Bulgaria will have to return to winning ways if it wants to keep realistic chances of advancing. South Korea, although out of contention for the finals, is looking to improve its performance.