The fifth annual FIVB Volleyball Women’s Nations League season has commenced.
The 2023 tournament commenced on May 30 last week, and it will run through July 16. There are 16 teams competing from around the world, and the finals will be held at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.
The 16 teams that qualified for the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Nations League tournament were the United States, Italy, Brazil, Canada, China, Turkey, Japan, Poland, Germany, Thailand, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Netherlands, South Korea and Bulgaria.
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Italy is the defending champions, having defeated Brazil in the finals of last year’s tournament to claim their first title. The Americans were looking to repeat last year, but they were stunned by Serbia 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
Americans Off To A Scorching Start In Bid For Fourth Championship
The U.S. is the only nation to have won the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Nations League more than once since the tournament was held for the first time in 2018.
The Americans won it the first three years — in 2018, 2019 and 2021. The 2020 tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the second straight tournament, the U.S. defeated Brazil in the tournament finals.
But USA’s bid for a four-peat, as previously noted, ended with a stunning loss to Serbia last year. The loss set the stage for a new champion, and when all was said and done, it was the Italians who emerged victorious.
USA, China and Poland were the three teams who went a perfect 3-0 in the preliminary round. America started off the tournament with a 3-2 win over Serbia, getting a little bit of revenge from last year’s loss in the quarters.
That game went the distance to five sets, with the U.S. winning the decisive one 15-12. 29-year-old Andrea Drews led the team with 25 points, and 24-year-old outside hitter Avery Skinner chipped in with 19.
Two days later on June 2, the Americans pulled off a statement 3-2 victory against Italy in a back-and-forth contest that required five sets. The U.S. won the last set 15-9, with the final score of that contest coming in at 101-95.
The Americans then soundly defeated South Korea 3-0 (total score 77-52) on June 3 to improve their record to 3-0. A day later, they won another back-and-forth tilt against Turkey 3-2, with the decisive set carrying a final score of 15-9.
In pool 4 play, the Americans will try to maintain their momentum when they play Croatia on June 13. That will be followed by matchups with Thailand (June 15), Japan (June 17) and Brazil (June 18).
On June 28, the U.S. will commence pool 5 play with a highly-anticipated showdown with Poland. They’ll then face Bulgaria (June 29), Germany (July 1) and China (July 2) before coming home to Arlington for their July 13 quarterfinals matchup (opponent to be determined).
USA Should Be Considered The Favorites To Win The FIVB Volleyball Women’s Nations League
With 11 points compared to nine for the Americans, Poland and China hold the tiebreakers in the preliminary phase standings.
But USA’s star-studded roster showed that they’re considerably deeper than other powerhouses with their earlier wins against Serbia, Italy and Turkey.
Throw in their championship pedigree, with three international titles to date, and it’s simply hard to make the case that a different team is the one to beat in this tournament. The U.S. don’t have any legitimate weaknesses, and they’ve been well battle-tested thus far in the FIVB nation’s league.
This year’s tournament certainly feels more wide open to previous years. But given their performance in the early stages of the tournament, coupled with home court advantage for the final round, the Americans should definitely be viewed as the team to beat.
They’ll get a chance to strengthen that case when they meet Croatia next week.
