VNL 2025, Italy-Slovenia 3-0: The Azzurri pass the acid test too.

Steady pace. Fefè De Giorgi's Italy continues its winning streak in the Nations League. In Ljubljana, the Azzurri defeated hosts Slovenia 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-23) in the penultimate round of Pool 8. The reigning world champions thus secured their ninth victory in the intercontinental phase of the VNL, maintaining their position in the top three of the tournament's overall rankings, which paves the way for the Finals scheduled for Ningbo, China, from Wednesday, July 30th to Sunday, August 3rd. Only Brazil leads the rankings, thanks to the Azzurri's nine wins and 25 points, having won 30 sets and lost 14. Another win in tomorrow's match against the Netherlands (4:30 p.m., live on DAZN and VBTV), on the fourth and final day of Week 3, would therefore be crucial to consolidating the best possible position ahead of the pairings for the quarter-finals of the Finals.

De Giorgi's match featured Giannelli as setter, Rychlicki as opposite hitter, Michieletto and Lavia as spikers, Anzani and Galassi as middle blockers, and Balaso as libero. On the other end, Fabio Soli selected Planinšič as setter, T. Štern as opposite hitter, Z. Štern and Možič as spikers, Kozamernik and Štalekar as middle blockers, and Okroglič as libero. The Azzurri got off to a flying start, staying ahead until midway through the set, when Slovenia tied the score at 12-12. The rally continued on the edge of balance, but right at the end of the set, two consecutive aces from Rychlicki allowed the Azzurri to extend their lead (23-20). The curtain fell on a Slovenian service error, ending the set at 25-22. The second set seemed to play out the same story, but the difference was made by Italy's attitude, which kept the match under control throughout. At 20-15, Bovolenta also entered the game and in the final, after a failed first set point, Italy sealed the deal with captain Giannelli (25-20). In the third set, the Azzurri started off with a sprint, then Soli's team recovered and once again the balance dominated the scene. The turning point of the set came in the middle phase, when the world champions no longer conceded anything to their opponents and took a significant lead (19-14). In the final, Slovenia proudly came back (23-23) but the decisive shots fell to the Azzurri, who closed out the set and the match (25-23).

Tomorrow's match against the Netherlands will be the 190th meeting between the two national teams, with Italy having won 83 times. The Dutch lost all three of their matches in Ljubljana in Week 3 of the VNL, against Ukraine, Slovenia, and Canada.

ITALY-SLOVENIA 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-23) ITALY: Giannelli 4, Michieletto 12, Anzani 10, Rychlicki 13, Lavia 8, Galassi 5, Balaso (L), Bovolenta, Porro. Sbertoli, Bottolo, Gargiulo, Caneschi, Pace. Coach: De Giorgi

SLOVENIA: Stern Z. 5, Kozamernik 5, Stern T. 6, Mozic 9, Stalekar 3, Planinsic, Okroglic (L), Bracko 4, Mujanovic 8, Najdic, Krzic. Ne Marovt, Kovacic, Sen.

All. Soli

Referees: Erdal (TUR) and Maciej (POL)

Notes: set duration 28', 27', 30'; total 85'. Italy: a 7, bs 17, mv 10, et 24 Slovenia: a 3, bs 14, mv 4, et 23

VNL 2025 menPool 8 (Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Wednesday, July 16

Ukraine-Netherlands 3-2 (25-21, 20-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-13) Italy - Serbia 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-16) Canada - Slovenia 1-3 (25-21, 21-25, 19-25, 21-25)

Thursday, July 17

Italy - Ukraine 3-2 (25-15, 25-20, 16-25, 23-25, 15-10) Netherlands - Slovenia 0-3 (22-25, 20-25, 15-25)

Friday, July 18

Ukraine-Serbia 0-3 (22-25, 19-25, 17-25)Netherlands-Canada 0-3 (22-25, 20-25, 15-25)

Saturday, July 19th

Serbia-Canada 3-1 (15-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-22) Italy-Slovenia 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-23)

Sunday, July 20th

1:00 PM Ukraine-Canada; 4:30 PM Netherlands-Italy; 8:30 PM Serbia-Slovenia