Ukraine stunned Italy in Ljubljana: a convincing 3:0 for one of the greatest victories of the VNL 2026
The Ukrainian men's volleyball national team achieved one of the most impressive victories of the second week of the Volleyball Nations League 2026. In a Pool 6 match in Ljubljana, Ukraine defeated Italy 3:0 on June 25, by sets of 25:23, 25:19 and 25:16, confirming against the reigning world champion that it is no longer just an unpleasant opponent but a serious candidate for the upper part of the table.
According to the official Volleyball World scoresheet, the match was played on Thursday, June 25, 2026, in Ljubljana, starting at 16:30 local time, as a Pool 6 duel in the second week of the men's Nations League. The result itself carries weight, but the way Ukraine reached the victory further strengthens the impression of surprise. Italy did not win a single set, and after the tight finish of the first section, the match increasingly shifted under Ukrainian control. Volleyball World described the victory as a major surprise for the second day in a row for Ukraine, after the same national team had defeated Brazil in four sets a day earlier. For Italy, the national team that the FIVB listed before the competition as the reigning world champion, the defeat was its second consecutive one in the Ljubljana week after its failure against Bulgaria.
The first set opened the door to the surprise
The first set was the most uncertain part of the match and the only one in which Italy retained a real possibility of a turnaround until the closing stage. Ukraine, according to the official result, won the opening section 25:23, and that set changed the psychological balance of the duel. The Italian national team had enough quality to return the match to a more expected rhythm, but it failed to take the initiative in reception, serve or transition. Ukraine played more bravely in the key points, and the finish of the first set showed that the team was not satisfied only with equal resistance against the favorite. After winning the opening set, the Ukrainian squad gained room to take more aggressive risks in serve and attack, while Italy found it increasingly difficult to find the stability that usually accompanies teams of a championship profile.
The second set further emphasized the difference in energy and execution. Ukraine won it 25:19, which was the first clear indicator that this was not just a short outsider surge. According to Volleyball World's report, the Ukrainian national team had control of the scoreboard during most of the match, and that control was especially visible in the middle part of the second set. Italy tried to change the rhythm during that period, but failed to reduce Ukrainian efficiency in attack. The third set ended even more convincingly, 25:16, so the match turned into a demonstration of stability by a team that knew how to exploit every crack in the game of the favored opponent.
Dominance in attack, block and serve
The statistical picture of the match confirms the impression left after the final result. Volleyball World states that Ukraine was better in successful attacks by 45:36, in ace serves by 5:1 and in blocks by 8:3. These three categories are particularly important because they show that the victory was not only the result of Italian errors, but of an overall Ukrainian advantage in the segments that most directly decide international matches at the highest level. Italy, according to the same report, had only a slight advantage in the number of unforced errors, with 17 compared to Ukraine's 18, but that detail could not compensate for the difference in directly won points. Ukraine, in practice, created more of its own opportunities, while Italy was too often forced to react under pressure.
The Ukrainian attacking distribution stood out in particular, as it did not depend on only one player. Vasyl Tupchii finished the match with 15 points, with a very high attacking efficiency of 67 percent, two blocks and one ace, according to Volleyball World data. The same number of points was scored by Oleh Plotnytskyi, who added three aces and one block and attacked with a 52 percent success rate. The third important attacking pillar was Dmytro Yanchuk with 14 points, including two blocks and one ace. Such a distribution of performance made it harder for the Italian block to read the Ukrainian game, because the pressure could not be directed only at one zone or one primary attacker.
On the Italian side, Mattia Bottolo scored the most, finishing the match with 11 points according to Volleyball World's report. That was too little for Italy in a match in which it needed a stable response to the Ukrainian serve and better attacking conversion from more difficult balls. The Italian national team usually builds its game on technical balance, breadth of attacking solutions and high discipline in the block-defense phase, but in Ljubljana those elements were not connected well enough. Ukraine, meanwhile, used every opportunity to extend runs and force Italy into additional risks. As the match progressed, the difference in security became increasingly visible.
Ukraine continues its run of great victories
This victory has added weight because it came only one day after Ukraine defeated Brazil in four sets. Volleyball World emphasized in its report that Ukraine marked the men's VNL 2026 with a major surprise for the second day in a row. Such a rhythm of results changes the perception of the Ukrainian national team in this edition of the competition. After its status as a debutant in last season's VNL, as Volleyball World described it, Ukraine presented itself in Ljubljana as a team that can defeat opponents from the very top of world volleyball. The victory against Italy is especially significant because it was achieved without losing a set, which in a competition of this level rarely happens by coincidence.
Ukrainian setter Yurii Synytsia highlighted his satisfaction and gratitude to the fans after the match for VBTV, and Volleyball World relays his message that the team is writing history. Synytsia also emphasized the importance of preparation for the competition, which clearly fit into the image of a match in which Ukraine did not look surprised by its own advantage. Such statements point to a team that does not perceive its results as one-off flashes, but as the consequence of systematic work and growing self-confidence. In sporting terms, this victory can further increase the players' belief that they can compete with the strongest national teams even when the opponent has greater international prestige. In a competition with short phases and a dense schedule, such a psychological effect can often be just as important as the points.
For Italy, the defeat opened a different sequence of questions. Bottolo, according to Volleyball World's report, said after the match that the result was a big lesson for the Italian team and that in the VNL every national team can punish an average performance. That assessment describes well the state in which Italy found itself after two consecutive defeats in Ljubljana. In the match against Ukraine, the problem was not only the final result, but the fact that the Italian response did not intensify as the encounter went on. The third set, lost by a nine-point margin, showed that the team failed to come back either through experience or through individual quality.
What the result means for the table
According to the current standings published by Volleyball World after the matches of June 25, Ukraine reached a 4-2 record and 13 points with the victory, climbing to fourth place in the overall table of the preliminary phase. Italy fell to a 3-3 record and 10 points, with seventh place and an ever smaller safety margin above the line for the finals. In the VNL, every victory carries great importance because the standings are not built through separate groups from which teams advance, but through a single preliminary phase in which the results of all national teams are compared. For that reason, a 3:0 victory has double value: it brings the maximum points return and improves the set and point ratios that can be important in the event of a tie.
Volleyball World states in the competition rules that the best eight teams of the preliminary phase go to the final phase, with a guaranteed place for the finals host. The FIVB previously announced that the men's VNL 2026 Finals will be played in Ningbo, China, so the Chinese national team has special status as host of the final tournament. For teams such as Ukraine and Italy, this further increases the pressure on every match of the preliminary phase because the room for error is not large. With its victory over Italy, Ukraine took a significant step toward the zone that leads to the finals, while Italy, after a strong opening to the season, must quickly stop the negative trend. In such a format, even one bad week can seriously change a team's position in the table.
Ljubljana as the center of the second week
Ljubljana is one of the three European centers of the competition in the second week of the men's VNL 2026, alongside Gliwice and Orléans. In its schedule announcement, the FIVB stated that the second competition week in Ljubljana is being played in Arena Stožice, and it was precisely there that Pool 6 produced a series of results that changed the balance of power in the upper part of the table. The Ukraine-Italy match fit into the broader pattern of a week in which favorites could not count on victories solely on the basis of reputation. A day earlier, Bulgaria defeated Italy and Ukraine defeated Brazil, which had already announced a very open tournament block before the Ukraine-Italy duel. After the new Ukrainian celebration, the Ljubljana part of the competition became one of the main stories of the second week of the VNL.
According to the FIVB schedule, each stop in the VNL 2026 brings 12 matches, spread over five competition days. That means teams do not have much time for recovery, analysis and adjustments between encounters. For Ukraine, that rhythm currently seems stimulating because the team enters the next duels with great self-confidence. For Italy, the same schedule represents an urgent test of reaction after two defeats. In international volleyball at this level, the difference between crisis and stabilization is often measured by the very next appearance, especially when matches are played from day to day.
The next challenges for Ukraine and Italy
The program for Friday, June 26, 2026, according to Volleyball World, brings a new test for both national teams in Ljubljana. Ukraine plays against Canada, while Italy faces a major duel with Brazil. For Ukraine, it will be an opportunity to confirm that the victories over Brazil and Italy were not merely the peak of one exceptional period, but a sign of stable progress in the competition. Canada is an opponent of a different profile, with a different rhythm and physical structure, so the Ukrainian national team will again have to show discipline in reception and variety in attack. A victory would further strengthen Ukraine at the top of the standings and bring it closer to a goal that before the start of the tournament did not look equally certain.
Italy, on the other hand, must seek against Brazil an answer that goes beyond only the imperative of the result. The team must restore aggressiveness in serve, greater efficiency of the first attack and a more stable reaction after losing runs. The defeat to Ukraine showed that there are no safe matches in the VNL 2026, not even for national teams with the biggest titles and the deepest roster. Ukraine used that openness of the competition in Ljubljana in the best possible way: it played bravely, efficiently and in an organized manner, and against Italy achieved a victory that will remain one of the strongest result signals of the second week of the men's Nations League.
Sources:
- Volleyball World – official scoresheet of the Ukraine - Italy match in the VNL 2026, including date, location, competition phase and set-by-set result (link)
- Volleyball World – match report, statistical overview, player statements and standings context after Ukraine's victory over Italy (link)
- Volleyball World – official VNL 2026 page with the standings and the rule on qualification of the best teams to the final phase (link)
- FIVB – official announcement on the host cities of the VNL 2026 and the finals of the men's competition in Ningbo, China (link)
- FIVB – official announcement of the VNL 2026 schedule, including information on Arena Stožice, the structure of the second week and the number of matches per stop (link)