The final matchups for the 2025 Volleyball Nations League Finals in Łódź, Poland (July 23-27) are now confirmed following the dramatic conclusion of the Preliminary Phase. These are: Italy vs. USA, Brazil vs. Germany, Japan vs. Türkiye, and Poland vs. China.
The 2025 VNL quarterfinals were officially set on Sunday after China mounted an incredible comeback to defeat the United States in a thrilling five-set match (18-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-16, 18-16). This spectacular finish in Arlington concluded the tournament’s Preliminary Phase and finalized the standings.
With all teams having completed their required matches, the pairings for the VNL Finals in Łódź, Poland, from July 23-27, were determined: first-placed Italy will play eighth-placed United States, second-placed Brazil will battle seventh-placed Germany, third-placed Japan will face sixth-placed Türkiye, and fourth-placed Poland will duel with fifth-placed China in the opening round.
China`s remarkable reverse sweep against the Americans secured their ninth victory and 24 points in the Preliminary Phase, allowing them to move one position higher in the final standings, surpassing Türkiye, who finished with eight wins and 23 points.
Outside hitter Wu Mengjie was a pivotal force in the Chinese comeback, delivering an impressive 27 points, including 26 kills and one ace. Her teammate, outside hitter Zhuang Yushan, also made a significant contribution to the win, adding 18 points from 15 kills and three blocks.
Reflecting on the match, Wu Mengjie stated, “Our fans supported us a lot here, and we could only fight back for them. We are a young team and have been playing with a lot of passion and energy. We’ll probably make mistakes at some point, but we’ll keep fighting all the time.”
For the United States, outside hitter Sarah Franklin was a dominant presence, leading all scorers with an outstanding 32 points (29 kills and three blocks). Opposite Taylor Mims also reached double digits off the bench, scoring ten points (nine kills, one block).
Sarah Franklin commented on her team`s performance: “I feel like we’re going to learn a lot from this and continue to grow. We saw a lot of good things on the court. China did a really good job of switching things up a little bit in the third and fourth sets, so I just think we could have been better at responding to that.”
Attention now turns to the men`s Volleyball Nations League, as they enter their third and final week of the Preliminary Phase. Matches will be held in Chiba, Japan, Gdańsk, Poland, and Ljubljana, Slovenia, from July 16-20.
Jasper Thornfield 
Oliver Wrenwick