Strong start for European teams at the FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship
Recap
The second day of competition at the Men’s Volleyball World Championship has concluded in the Philippines. Fans witnessed truly thrilling matches and intense battles right from the first moments of play. For instance, the Bulgarian national team managed to push the score in one of the sets all the way to 40 points! It became the Men's World Championship's set score record, the last time this happened in 2006.
Pool B
Netherlands - Qatar 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 26-28, 25-23)
Poland - Romania 3-0 (34-32, 25-15, 25-19)
World ranking leaders Poland started their Volleyball World Championship campaign with a solid 3-0 win over Romania, despite a tough opening set.
Poland struggled in the first set but quickly regained control and dominated the next two.
Polish captain Bartosz Kurek, who missed the 2025 VNL, returned to the squad and scored 13 points (10 attacks, 2 blocks, 1 ace).
Wilfredo Leon also contributed significantly with 14 points (11 attacks, 2 aces, 1 block), while Tomasz Fornal added 10 points (6 attacks, 3 blocks, 1 ace).
For Romania, Adrian Aciobăniței led with 11 points (9 attacks, 1 block, 1 ace), followed by Mircea Peța, who had 8 attacks and one block.
Poland outperformed Romania in all key stats:
- Attacks: 40–36
- Blocks: 9–3
- Aces: 6–2
- Fewer errors: 25 vs. 29
With this win, Poland topped Pool B, tied with the Netherlands at 3 points but ahead on set ratio.
Pool D
Cuba - Portugal 1-3 (25-20, 22-25, 19-25, 19-25)
USA - Colombia 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-14)
USA, led by captain Micah Christenson, began this World Championship with a convincing 3‑0 win over Colombia in their Pool D. Christenson, returning after skipping the Volleyball Nations League, showed strong connection with his hitters.
Key USA contributors:
- Ethan Champlin – 17 points (12 kills, 3 aces, 2 blocks)
- Gabriel Garcia – 12 points (8 kills, 4 aces)
- Jordan Ewert – 11 points (10 kills, 1 block)
For Colombia:
- Miguel Ángel Amaranto was top scorer with 11 kills
- Juan Felipe Benavides added 8 points all from attack swings
USA dominated the match in the stats: more kills (40‑31), more blocks (6‑4), more aces (8‑3), and fewer errors (17‑21).
With this win, USA earned 3 points in Pool D; Colombia, making their first appearance at a World Championship, left without any.
Pool E
Slovenia - Chile 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-16)
Slovenia, ranked sixth in the FIVB World Rankings, opened their 2025 Men’s World Championship campaign with a commanding 3‑0 win (25‑19, 25‑20, 25‑16) over Chile in Pasay City.
They controlled the match from start to finish relying on their greater experience.
Top scorers for Slovenia were Tonček Štern with 15 points (11 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces), Nik Mujanović (used as an outside hitter) with 12 points (9 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace), and Jan Kozamernik with 11 points (7 kills, 4 blocks).
Chile’s highlight performers included Vicente Parraguirre, scoring all 12 points on offense, and Noé Aravena with 11 points (7 kills, 3 blocks, 1 ace).
Statistically, Slovenia outdid Chile in kills (47 vs. 30), blocks (10 vs. 5), and aces (5 vs. 1), despite making more errors (19 vs. 13).
With the win, Slovenia earned 3 points and share the top of Pool E with Bulgaria, both leading with 3 points after the first round.
Germany - Bulgaria 0-3 (38-40, 22-25, 20-25)
Bulgaria kicked off their World Championship journey with a straight‐sets victory over Germany, winning 3‑0.
The first set was a thriller: Germany recovered from a six‑point deficit, brought the score into overtime, and had several set points, but Bulgaria edged them out 40‑38 (The Men's World Championship's record). After that, Bulgaria made fewer errors, carried the momentum, and closed out the match with more control.
Standout performances came from the Nikolov brothers. Aleksandar Nikolov, 21‑year‑old outside hitter, was top scorer with 27 points (including two blocks and an ace). 18‑year‑old Simeon Nikolov added nine points, including two aces, and had an 88% attack success rate. Another outside hitter, Martin Atanasov, scored 11 points and made two blocks.
Germany’s best was György Grozer, their 40‑year‑old captain and opposite, who put up 13 points (three aces and three blocks). Others contributing were Anton Brehme (11 points) and Tobias Krick (10 points).
In the overall stats, Bulgaria had 53 kill points vs Germany’s 43, and a block kill advantage of 10‑6. Germany did slightly better in aces (6‑4) and made fewer errors (23 vs. 25).
Pool G
Canada - Libya 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-12, 29-27)
Japan - Türkiye 0-3 (19-25, 23-25, 19-25)
Türkiye pulled off a surprise 3‑0 win over Japan in their opening match of Pool G.
Despite being ranked #16, Türkiye defeated the world #5 team—marking their first victory over Japan since 2016.
Key contributors for Türkiye:
Efe Mandiraci served five aces, including one that clinched match point in the third set, and also added two kill blocks, finishing with a match‑high 17 points. Adis Lagumdzija scored 15 points, including three kill blocks and an ace; he closed out the match with the final point.
For Japan:
Kento Miyaura led with 13 points, which included one ace and one kill block. Captain Yuki Ishikawa added 10 points, all coming from attacks.
In statistical comparisons, Türkiye outdid Japan on several counts:
- Aces: 7‑1
- Kill blocks: 8‑6
- Spike kills: 37‑33
They also committed 21 unforced errors to Japan’s 23.