The Dutch squad is set to face either Japan or Thailand in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The Netherlands has secured the first quarterfinal berth at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship in Thailand. In a dramatic five-set showdown in Bangkok on Friday, the Dutch squad overcame Serbia, the world champions from the previous two editions, effectively ending their reign. The Netherlands will discover their quarterfinal opponent later today, which will be the victor of the second eighthfinal match between Japan and Thailand, scheduled to begin at 20:30 local time (13:30 UTC).
Despite the absence of their injured star player and two-time World Championship MVP (2018, 2022) Tijana Boskovic, Serbia mounted a remarkable comeback from being two sets down, forcing the match into a decisive fifth set. However, the Netherlands asserted clear dominance in the tie-breaker. The match concluded with Nika Daalderop`s pivotal spike, which grazed the finger of Serbian rising star middle blocker Hena Kurtagic, securing a 3-2 victory for the Dutch (27-25, 26-24, 22-25, 20-25, 15-11) and initiating their celebrations.
The first four sets were fiercely contested, featuring numerous lead changes. Both the first and second sets went into overtime before the Western European team established a 2-0 lead. Spearheaded by dynamic attacks from 20-year-old outside hitter Vanja Ivanovic in the third set and 21-year-old Aleksandra Uzelac in the fourth, the Southern European side fought back to level the score, but their challenge ultimately fell short.
Serbia demonstrated superior performance in several scoring categories, including spike kills (72-63), serving aces (7-3), and kill blocks (13-12). However, they were hampered by a significant number of unforced errors, committing 32 compared to the Netherlands` 18. Dutch captain Nika Daalderop led her team with 19 points, including the match-winning spike, one ace, and one kill block. Elles Dambrink, the 22-year-old opposite, contributed 17 points. Other key players reaching double digits were outside hitter Marrit Jasper (13 points), 22-year-old middle blocker Britte Stuut (11 points, with four kill blocks), and her teammate Eline Timmerman (10 points).
“I can`t believe it! I`m incredibly happy!” Marrit Jasper exclaimed in her post-match interview. “I`m so proud of the team. Everyone fought hard. The first two sets were extremely close, and we had a dip after that, but we rallied at the crucial moment. Reaching the quarterfinals was our initial goal, and now we`re focused on the next one.”
For Serbia, Aleksandra Uzelac was the standout performer, achieving an impressive 31 points to become the match`s top scorer. She also shared the title of best server with opposite Vanja Bukilic, both earning three aces. Bukilic finished with a total of 14 points. Ivanovic contributed 24 points, all from attacks, while middle blocker Maja Aleksic made a strong defensive impact with six kill blocks, accumulating 13 points overall.
“It`s truly disappointing that we lost. We managed to come back from 2-0 to 2-2, and when you achieve such a comeback, you expect to win. So, this defeat will sting for a while, and hopefully, we`ll remember this pain in the coming years and learn from it,” commented Vanja Bukilic. “This season, we`ve grown together as a team, and I believe we will continue to develop more and more each year.”
Jasper Thornfield 
Oliver Wrenwick