On Wednesday, June 11, the Ukrainian national volleyball team played its inaugural match in the Nations League. Their opponent was the USA, bronze medalists from the 2024 Olympics.

The match took place in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and ended with a score of 3:0.

The first set was won by Ukraine thanks to several successful plays at the start of the game. This gave them enough of a lead to ultimately defeat their opponents (25:22).

The second set was tightly contested, and it was unclear who would emerge victorious until the score reached 20:18. At that point, Ukraine seized the initiative and claimed victory 25:20.

With only one more set needed for a historic triumph in the Nations League, the Ukrainian team managed to secure their win despite a rocky start in the next set (25:23).

Special recognition goes to Vasyl Tupchii, who scored many crucial points and emerged as the top scorer, greatly contributing to this historic achievement for the team.

Nations League 2025
Group Stage, June 11

Ukraine – USA 3:0 (25:22, 25:20, 25:23)

This season, the International Volleyball Federation expanded the number of participants from 16 to 18. Teams are divided into three pools of six. Each team will play 12 matches during the group stage, after which the top eight countries will advance to the playoffs.

Following the match against the USA, Ukraine will play three more matches this week: against Cuba (June 13), Brazil (June 14), and Iran (June 15).