MVP Egonu lifts Italy to second FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League title

For the second time in history, Italy have won the FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League, with a perfect ending in the final round in Bangkok, Thailand, where they secured three wins, including a 3:1 win over Japan in the big final of the 2024 edition.

Champions in 2022, Italy finished second in the preliminary round, which consisted of six pools played over three weeks throughout the world, conceding two losses. But after they secured their Paris 2024 Olympic berth at the end of the preliminary round, the European powerhouse became unhinged and delivered a pitch perfect ending of the competition.

Three European sides qualified for the final round – Italy, Poland and reigning champions Türkiye – with the latter two sides colliding in the quarter-finals, providing a hugely entertaining match, the most balanced between the four quarter-finals played in Bangkok.

Türkiye, the reigning champions, won the first set, 25:20, only to lose the next two, 22:25 and 20:25, as Poland looked set to deliver a big win and qualify for the semi-finals. Led by the MVP of the CEV EuroVolley 2023 Women, Melissa Vargas, the Turkish side bounced back and clinched the fourth set, 25:19, pushing the match into the decider.

Vargas had 39 points and was seconded by Ebrar Karakurt, with 14 points, but the pair could not weather the storm in the decider, where Poland clinched a 15:11 win, as Magdalena Stysiak had 17 points.

Vargas, the MVP of the CEV EuroVolley Women 2023, has also finished as the top scorer of the competition, with 293 points, 21 more than Japan’s Sarina Nishida Koga and 44 more than Brazil’s Gabi.

Italy, on the other hand, played against the reigning Olympic champions, the United States of America, and provided a fantastic performance, taking a 3:0 win (25:21; 25:21; 25:23), on the back of an excellent outing from Paola Egonu, who scored 20 points.

Brazil, which went on a 12-0 rampage in the preliminary round, also secured a semi-final berth with a 3:0 win over hosts Thailand, while Japan disposed of the People’s Republic of China, 3:0, to make it to the semi-finals.

It was always going to be a final with an European team, as Italy faced Poland in the second semi-final. But there was no question about the winner, as Italy steamrolled their way into the last act, with a flawless 3:0 win (25:18; 25:17; 25:12), as Julio Velasco’s side looked unplayable at times.

Once again, Egonu delivered a superb performance, with 22 points, being rendered absolutely unstoppable.

While everybody expected a final between Italy and Brazil, it was Japan which delivered the biggest shock, taking a 3:2 win, with a 15:12 win in the fifth set, making it to the final for the first time in history, in a sensational turn of events, especially after they finished the preliminary round with eight wins and four losses.

But Italy properly dominated the final, with only a blip in the third set derailing their bid for the second trophy in the FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League, after the one in 2022.

The European powerhouse took the first two sets, 25:17 and 25:17, before Japan finally broke their duck in the final to clinch the third set, 25:21. But with Paola Egonu in fantastic form, scoring 27 points, her third match in the final round with over 20 points, Italy dominated the last set, taking it 25:20.

“How can I feel! I am happy, of course, because we are an amazing group and you can see it in how we play on the court. I hope this is just the beginning. This tournament was really hard, we travelled a lot, but we stayed focused and we won. Again, it’s an amazing team! Congratulations to Japan! They deserved to be in this final,” said Italy’s captain, Anna Danesi, after the final.

Paola Egonu was named the MVP of the competition for the second time, after the individual title secured in 2022, adding to her already star-studded trophy cabinet, which includes three MVP titles in the CEV Champions League Women and one at the CEV EuroVolley Women in 2021.

2024 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League All-Star team

MVP: Paola Egonu (Italy)
Best Setter: Alessia Orro (Italy)
Best Opposite: Paola Egonu (Italy)
Best Outside Hitters: Sarina Koga (Japan) and Myriam Sylla (Italy)
Best Middle Blockers: Agnieszka Korneluk (Poland) and Sarah Fahr (Italy)
Best Libero: Manami Kojima (Japan)