2026 VNL Jun 21: Six Tiebreakers Close Out Week 2

Week 2 of VNL 2026 ended with a bang, as six of the nine matches went to a deciding fifth set, including a dramatic three match sweep of tiebreakers in Ankara. Germany stunned previously unbeaten Brazil, while Türkiye’s Melissa Vargas continued her scoring tear with a record chasing performance.

Pool 5 (Pasig, Philippines)

The final day of the match week started with USA defeating Serbia 3-1 (25-22, 18-25, 25-16, 25-20) to improve their record to 7-1. Serbia’s record dropped to 2-6.

The next match in Pasig saw Czechia come back from two sets down to defeat the Dominican Republic 3-2 (17-25, 24-26, 25-18, 31-29, 15-10). Czechia’s record improved to 4-4, while the Dominican Republic stayed on one win after Week 2. This was a bounce-back win for Czechia, who lost all three matches in Week 2 after a strong performance in Week 1. In a post-match interview with VBTV, Czech opposite Monika Brancuská said she felt amazing and that finishing the week with a win was nice. She said they knew from the beginning they needed to be patient because it would be hard and both teams were tired from playing four matches in five days, but they found the power inside them and pushed through to win.

The final match in Pasig saw Italy defeat Japan in straight sets (25-21, 25-23, 25-18). Italy improved to 6-2, while Japan finished Week 2 with the same number of wins. Olympic champion Ekaterina Antropova returned to her original position as an opposite in this match, after playing as an outside hitter earlier in the competition. She did not disappoint, scoring 17 points to become the match’s top scorer.

Pool 6 (Bangkok, Thailand)

Over in Bangkok, the first match of the day saw Bulgaria edge out Ukraine in five sets (25-22, 19-25, 21-25, 25-15, 17-15) to secure their second win of the tournament. Ukraine stayed on two wins to finish Week 2.

The next match in Bangkok saw Canada defeat Poland in another five set match (25-23, 21-25, 25-16, 11-25, 15-13). The win improved Canada’s record to 5-3, while Poland fell to 6-2. Canadian opposite Kiera Van Ryk shone once again as the top scorer, finishing with 26 points and four aces. She also finished as the top scorer of Week 2 with a stunning total of 93 points and 11 aces across four matches.

In the final match in Bangkok, the Netherlands swept Thailand 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-15) to improve their record to 4-4. Thailand’s record fell to 2-6.

Pool 4 (Ankara, Türkiye)

Ankara produced the most exciting matchday of the tournament so far, with all three matches ending in a tiebreaker.

The first match saw Belgium defeat France in five sets (25-17, 20-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-8) to improve their record to 3-5. France remained on one win by the end of Week 2.

The second match of the day saw Germany stun previously unbeaten Brazil in five sets (26-24, 28-26, 15-25, 19-25, 16-14), denying Brazil’s comeback attempt and handing them their first defeat of the VNL season. Germany’s record improved to 3-5, and they picked up 13.27 world ranking points from Brazil for the win. In a post-match interview with VBTV, German outside hitter Pia Timmer called the match “really special” and said it was a team effort all around. She said she was really proud of the team and felt they deserved it, adding that the win felt even more rewarding after the previous day’s 3-2 loss to Türkiye.

The final match of Week 2 featured host Türkiye defeating China in five sets (25-21, 26-28, 23-25, 25-16, 15-12). Türkiye improved to 6-2, while China dropped to 5-3. Turkish opposite Melissa Vargas was the top scorer for the fourth consecutive match since her return in Week 2, scoring an incredible 36 points with four aces to help secure the victory. This performance placed her tied for sixth in the VNL record books for most points scored in a single match. Near the end of the fifth set, 17-year old Chinese setter Zhang Zixuan was spotted crying when China was down 11-14. After the match, Vargas was seen talking to Zhang and later said she told the young setter to forget about the match and move on.

Looking Ahead to Week 3

Women’s VNL 2026 Week 3 will resume on July 8, with teams playing their final four matches to fight for a place in the finals in Macau and to avoid relegation. The relegation battle remains intense, with Dominican Republic (5 points) and France (4 points) at the bottom of the table with one win each. Four teams sit on two wins: Serbia (10 points), Thailand (9 points), Ukraine (6 points) and Bulgaria (5 points).

Week 3 matches will take place in Belgrade, Serbia (Pool 7), Hong Kong, China (Pool 8), and Osaka, Japan (Pool 9).

(Featured image source: Volleyball World)

(Written by Boris CHUNG Bok Man)