Italy’s women’s volleyball team clinch second title

Italy clinched their second Women’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) title with a thrilling 3-1 win over Japan (25-17, 25-17, 21-25, 25-20) at the packed Hua Mark Indoor Stadium on Sunday.

In a match filled with electrifying moments, Italy outspiked and outblocked Japan to secure their VNL crown, following their first win in 2022. Key player Paola Egonu was pivotal, contributing four of Italy’s 12 kill blocks (compared to Japan’s two) and delivering 23 of Italy’s 66 successful attacks (against Japan’s 52). Egonu topped the match charts with 27 points. Myriam Sylla and Alice Degradi added 15 and 12 points, respectively, while a decisive block by Sarah Fahr sealed the match in the fourth set.

Japan showed resilience, with Arisa Inoue’s two aces helping them claim the third set. Inoue finished with 11 points, and captain Sarina Koga led Japan with 17 points, all in offense.

‘How can I feel! I am happy, of course, because we are an amazing group and you can see it in how we play on the court. I hope this is just the beginning,’ Italy’s middle blocker and captain Anna Danesi said . ‘This tournament was really hard, we travelled a lot, but we stayed focused and we won. Again, it’s an amazing team! Congratulations to Japan! They deserved to be in this final.’

Japan’s middle blocker Airi Miyabe reflected on their journey: ‘I think we grew a lot as a team throughout this VNL and we have to be proud of that. Winning our first VNL medal is something we have to be proud of, but there are some things we have to work on too.’

In the third-placed showdown, Poland secured a 3-2 victory over Brazil (25-21, 26-28, 25-21, 19-25, 15-9) for the bronze. Despite their semifinal loss to Japan, Brazil fought hard but settled for fourth, marking their second fourth-place finish after 2018. Poland celebrated their second podium finish in VNL history, following last year’s bronze.