VNL heavyweights to clash in Chicago

Poland, Brazil and Italy are among the top national teams heading into the second week of the Volleyball Nations League in Chicago.

June 24, 2025

With three of the top four men’s national teams in the Volleyball Nations League 2025 competing in Chicago this week, the matches taking place from Wednesday to Sunday at the NOW Arena are expected to significantly impact the standings.

Alongside first-placed Poland, third-placed Brazil, and fourth-placed Italy, Chicago will also host sixth-placed Canada and eighth-placed China, both currently within the qualification spots for the Finals. The host United States team, ranked 11th, will also compete.

Team Highlights and Updates

Poland, the only undefeated team in VNL 2025, had a stellar opening week in Xi’an, China, securing maximum points with four victories against the Netherlands, Japan, Türkiye, and Serbia. Opposite Kewin Sasak was a key contributor with 57 points. This week, the team is bolstered by the return of outside hitters Kamil Semeniuk and Aleksander Śliwka, and opposite Marcin Komenda, although they will miss outside hitter Rafał Szymura due to a knee injury.

Semeniuk commented on the team`s strong start: “I think the ambition of the younger players played a big role in our start. They want to show they can also perform at the international level in the VNL, and that, combined with our strategy and the strength of our squad, helped us get those wins.”

Third-placed Brazil utilized their home advantage in Rio de Janeiro during the first week, earning nine points with wins over Iran, Ukraine, and Slovenia. Middle blocker Judson Nunes led their scoring with 46 points. Olympic champion outside hitter Ricardo Lucarelli, who sat out the first week recovering from a shoulder injury, might return to the lineup in Chicago.

Lucarelli reflected on their performance: “I thought we played really well in Rio, but we lacked some consistency at times. That’s normal when you think it’s the first week of the VNL and there are many new players coming into the team, but we want to improve on that this week. The team showed great resilience and that’s very important because we need to fight until the end when things aren’t going our way.”

Reigning world champions Italy, despite fielding a largely young squad in Quebec, also performed well, securing eight points with victories against Bulgaria, Germany, and Argentina. Young outside hitter Luca Porro was a standout, scoring 59 points. Head coach Ferdinando De Giorgi will reintegrate several key players this week, including outside hitters Alessandro Michieletto and Daniele Lavia, middle blocker Gianluca Galassi, and libero Fabio Balaso.

Galassi spoke about the team’s composition and outlook: “We had a generational change about two years ago, so the core of our group is still the same. All four opponents here in Chicago will be really tough ones. Poland, Brazil and the United States will be really interesting matches for us. We want to leave a good impression here.”

Canada, also competing in Quebec, earned seven points with two home victories against Germany and Bulgaria. Outside hitter Brodie Hofer was impressive, scoring 69 points, the third-highest total in VNL 2025’s opening week.

Jesse Elser, another outside hitter, praised the home crowd and the team: “He had an incredible home crowd two weeks ago, and that was awesome. We’re a young team and have huge shoes to fill from the team from the last quad, but I think that we have the guys, the coach and the motivation to do it. I’m really excited to see what we can accomplish.”

China, already qualified for the Finals as hosts, entered the qualification zone after winning six points with victories over Serbia and the Netherlands in front of their home fans in Xi’an. Outside hitter Yuantai Yu was their top scorer with 41 points.

Outside hitter Ji Daoshuai emphasized the importance of the wins: “Getting those wins in the first week was really important for us. Every time we play these top teams is an opportunity for us to learn from them. And this week we want to take a few more victories.”

The United States, playing with a very young roster in Rio, had a promising start with five points from wins against Iran and Cuba. Outside hitter Cooper Robinson was a standout with 54 points. This week, coach Karch Kiraly will benefit from the experience of three Olympians: libero Erik Shoji, opposite Kyle Ensing, and setter Micah Ma’a.

Shoji commented on integrating new players: “We’re a pretty young team, with a lot of new guys, and on the first day of practice, I probably met ten of 15 players for the first time. It’s just about a lot of communication and trying to jell on the court together and see how we can play. We’re learning each other on the court and I think we’ve done a pretty job with that in the one month we’ve been together.”

Chicago Match Schedule

The action in Chicago begins on Wednesday. Italy will face Poland at 12:30 local time (17:30 GMT), followed by Canada playing Brazil at 16:00 (21:00 GMT). The United States will take on China at 19:30 (00:30 GMT, Thursday).

Matches on the next three days will start at 16:00 (21:00 GMT) and 19:30 (00:30 GMT). Thursday features Brazil vs. China and Canada vs. USA. Friday’s games are China vs. Italy and Canada vs. Poland. Saturday`s lineup is Brazil vs. Italy and USA vs. Poland.

Sunday concludes the week with a full schedule: China vs. Canada at 12:30 (17:30 GMT), Brazil vs. Poland at 16:00 (21:00 GMT), and USA vs. Italy wrapping up the event at 19:30 (00:30 GMT, Monday).

VNL 2025 Format

The VNL 2025 features a new format with 18 national teams. During each of the three Preliminary Phase weeks, teams are divided into three pools of six, playing four matches each. After the Preliminary Phase, the top seven ranked teams, along with hosts China, will qualify for the Finals, scheduled from July 30 to August 3 in Ningbo.

Concurrent to Chicago, the second week of VNL matches will also be held in Burgas, featuring hosts Bulgaria, France, Ukraine, Japan, Türkiye, and Slovenia. Belgrade will host the third pool, with hosts Serbia, Argentina, Cuba, Germany, Iran, and the Netherlands competing.