Ukraine are already making a huge splash in the 2025 Volleyball Nations League men’s division. Despite coming in as the competition’s debutants, Raul Lozano’s men have raced to a 2-0 record so far in Week 1.
Defending champions France seek their third title in the last four years, but they’re off to a lackluster start, dropping their first match against Argentina. However, the SBOTOP Volleyball Nations League 2025 odds suggest that Les Bleus will make another deep run in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Poland and Japan gave us one of the best matches so far, and these two teams are at the top of the pecking order.
Just as in the women’s division, only eight of the 18 teams will advance to the next round. China are guaranteed a spot, regardless of their record, because they’re the finals’ host, so that leaves us with seven open spots.
Check out the latest Volleyball Nations League 2025 updates by continuing to read below.
Ukraine already making noise
Ukraine started their 2025 Volleyball Nations League campaign by taking down the Paris Olympic bronze medalists, the USA, and Cuba in a thrilling five-setter earlier this week.
Raul Lozano’s men notched a statement 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-23) victory against the Americans to claim their first three points in the tournament through their powerful serves. Opposite Vasyl Tupchii played a huge role in the win, recording a match-high 16 points (12 kills, three aces, and one block), while outside hitters Dmytro Yanchuk and Illia Kovalov added 12 and 10 points.
The USA fielded a young team, with middle blocker Jeff Jendryk as the only Paris Olympic medalist. Opposite Gabi Garcia and outside hitter Cooper Robinson had 13 points apiece in the losing effort.
The unexpected result moved the Ukrainians to 13th place for gaining 17.64 points. It also had the Americans dropping the same number of points and losing the third place to Slovenia.
Ukraine followed it up with a 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 25-20, 17-25, 15-12) win over Cuba after an intense back-and-forth. Vasyl Tupchii led the way again with 18 points (15 kills and three blocks), and Dmytro Yanchuk and Illia Kovalov delivered 17 points apiece.
Outside hitter Marlon Yant led all scorers with 23 points (19 kills, three aces, and one block). Middle blocker Javier Concepction posted 11 points (six kills, four blocks, and one ace) for the Cubans.
Up next for Ukraine are Brazil, and it’ll be bonkers if they score yet another upset this weekend.
France on the receiving end of a massive upset
France dropped their first match of the 2025 Volleyball Nations League, losing to Argentina 3-1 (25-22, 13-25, 25-22, 25-19) in Quebec, Canada, last Wednesday. Les Bleus were able to take a set, but Argentina were better in the key moments of the contest.
Outside hitter Trevor Clevenot and opposite Theo Faure were France’s most productive players with 13 points each, and outside hitter Mathis Henno, playing in his first Volleyball Nations League game, had 12 points.
On the other hand, Pablo Kukartsev spearheaded Argentina by finishing as the match’s top scorer with 15 points (14 kills and one block). Outside hitter Luciano Palonsky added 14 points (13 kills and one ace) in the victory.
Poland versus Japan lived up to the hype
Two of the world’s top teams put together a nerve-wracking battle in Xi’an, China, as Poland secured a 3-1 (27-25, 25-22, 18-25, 39-37) win over Japan last Thursday night. It was the second win of the competition for the 2023 champions and the first loss for last year’s runners-up.
The first provided a preview of what was to come. Japan had a quadruple set point at 24-20, but middle blocker Szymon Jakubiszak and captain Rafal Szymura had other ideas. Poland went ahead on a 6-1 run, and opposite Aliaksei Nasevich scored the set point with a monster block.
Poland doubled their lead by taking the second set, but Japan replied with a dominant third set and were close to pushing the match to a deciding fifth set.
Japan rallied from a seven-point deficit and then denied a double match point for Poland at 24-22 before the set went into overtime. Poland’s Kewin Sasak eventually scored the matchwinner (39-37) on a block.
Sasak topped the box score with 20 points, including two kill blocks. Artur Szalpuk, Rafal Szymura, Jakub Nowak, and Szymon Jakubiszak added 16, 14, 13, and 12 points for Poland. Young stars Masato Kai and Keihan Takahashi notched 18 and 13 points in the losing effort for Japan.
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