June 7, 2026.- The final day of the first week of the Women’s VNL ended with a victory for the United States and defeats for the Dominican Republic and Canada. The Americans and Canadians played their matches in Quebec, Canada, while the Dominicans competed in Brasília, Brazil.
The second week of competition begins on June 17. The United States and the Dominican Republic will travel to Pasig City, Philippines, where they will compete in Pool 5 alongside Italy, Czechia, Japan, and Serbia. Meanwhile, Canada will travel to Bangkok, Thailand, to play in Pool 6 along with the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Poland, Thailand, and Ukraine.
United States Finish with Victory over Germany
The United States concluded the first week in Pool 1 with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-12) victory over Germany, finishing with a record of three wins and one loss. The Americans moved into fifth place in the overall standings with a total of eight points.
In team statistics, the Americans were clearly superior to the Germans in attacks (45-28) and blocks (11-6), while Germany held a slight edge in aces (5-4).
The match was very clean, with only 25 unforced errors committed throughout the contest—15 by Germany and 10 by the United States.
Three American players reached double digits in scoring. Simone Lee was once again the match’s leading scorer with 16 points, Avery Skinner added 15, and captain Jordan Thompson finished with 10.
During the second week of competition, the United States will face the Dominican Republic on June 17, Czechia on June 18, rest on June 19, Italy on June 20, and Serbia on June 21.
Canada Falls in Thrilling Five-Set Match
Canada lost a thrilling five-set battle to Japan, the fourth-ranked team in the FIVB World Ranking, by a score of 2-3 (27-29, 20-25, 25-23, 30-28, 12-15) in its final match of the first week of the Women’s VNL.
Despite the loss, the Canadians outperformed Japan in team statistics, leading in attacks (70-65), blocks (15-3), and aces (8-7). However, the Japanese capitalized on Canada’s 44 unforced errors to secure the victory.
Kiera Van Ryk once again impressed the home crowd with her play at the net, scoring 28 points, including three aces. Andrea Mitrovic and Hilary Howe contributed 13 points each to the Canadian offense, while Nyadholi Thokbuom also reached double digits with 11 points.
The defeat left Canada in eighth place in the overall standings with two wins, two losses, and seven points.
For the second week of action, Canada will face the Netherlands on June 17, rest on June 18, Bulgaria on June 19, Thailand on June 20, and Poland on June 21.
Dominican Republic Unable to Overcome the Netherlands
In Pool 2, played in Brasília, the Dominican Republic completed its worst-ever opening week in the Women’s VNL with a 0-3 (20-25, 19-25, 17-25) loss to the Netherlands. The defeat leaves the Queens of the Caribbean in 18th place with no victories, four losses, and just one point.
The Europeans were superior in every team statistical category: attacks (39-30), blocks (9-4), and aces (5-1). They also benefited from the Dominicans’ 22 unforced errors, compared to 21 committed by the Dutch team.
Jineiry Martínez led the Dominican Republic with eight points, while Flormarie Heredia and Altagracia Alonzo each added seven.
The Dominican Republic’s second-week schedule includes matches against the United States on June 17, Serbia on June 19, Japan on June 20, and Czech Republic on June 21, with a rest day on June 18.
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