The 2025 Volleyball Nations League will be unlike any other. The FIVB decided to expand the annual tournament to 18 teams, and no current teams were relegated from the previous season. The two extra spots were allocated to the Czech Republic, winners of the 2024 Challenger Cup, and Belgium, the non-qualified top-ranked FIVB team.
Czech Republic and Belgium will join Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, and the United States.
Italy enter this tournament as one of the prohibitive favorites. The SBOTOP Volleyball Nations League 2025 odds back the Azzurri to make a deep run in the competition because they kept most of their core players from last year’s title-winning squad. Brazil, the USA, and Serbia are probably Italy’s closest challengers.
The volleyball showpiece event will be from June 4 to July 27, with the final round at the Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland. Without further ado, continue reading below to learn about the latest Volleyball Nations League 2025 updates.
Egonu and co. back for another tour of duty for Italy
Paola Egonu is back for another tour of duty with defending Volleyball Nations League champions Italy, looking to guide the national team to its third championship in four years. Egonu comes into the tournament in fine form, as she was also named MVP of the 2024 Paris Olympics volleyball tournament after leading the Azzurri to its first medal. Fellow Olympic champions Alessia Orro, Anna Danesi, Myriam Sylla, and Monica De Gennaro will join Egonu. Julio Velasco will continue as the national team’s head coach.
Italy recently hosted Germany (led by new head coach Giulio Bregoli) for a couple of tune-up games to prepare for the 2025 Volleyball Nations League, with both countries notching one win. Italy won the first encounter 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-17, 25-21) in Novara, as outside hitters Loveth Omoruyi and Gaia Giovannini led with 16 and 14 points. Middle blocker Matilde Munarini made her national team debut and scored 11 points. Middle blocker Camilla Weitzel and outside hitter Lina Alsmeier top-scored for Germany in the losing effort with 17 (game-high) and 15 points.
Germany bounced back in the second game in Milano, winning 3-1 (25-21, 26-24, 22-25, 25-21). Middle blocker Marie Schölzel scored 18 points, one more than outside hitter Romy Jatzko, to win the MVP award. Backup opposite Giorgia Frosini was Italy’s top scorer with 16 points.
Italy and Germany will play in a mini-tournament alongside Turkey and the Netherlands between May 23 and 25 as part of their ongoing Volleyball Nations League preparations.
Japan usher in new era
Japan, which finished as last year’s runners-up, will look different this year since they won’t have one of their most impactful players. Sarina Koga-Nishida has said sayonara to the national team after failing to progress to the quarterfinals in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Many believed Koga-Nishida retired too early since she’s only 29.
“I told my family that Paris would be my last stop after the Tokyo Olympics. They knew from the beginning and I knew it was really the last time. It was a great memory for me because I was with them in my last moments,” she said last year.
“I am really undecided about the future, but I am looking forward to enjoying it a little bit,” she added.
Koga-Nishida led Japan to a silver medal finish in last year’s Volleyball Nations League – the country’s first medal in VNL. She also led the NEC Red Rockets to back-to-back V1 championships in March.
With Koga-Nishida retired, Japan appointed Mayu Ishikawa as their new skipper. VNL 2024 Dream Team libero Manami Kojima and up-and-coming star Yoshino Sato are also on the team, led by head coach Ferhat Akbas.
Canada aim to make noise
Canada will open the 2025 Volleyball Nations League campaign on home soil in Ottawa, with new head coach Giovanni Guidetti in charge. The Maple Leafs entered the VNL in 2021 and have qualified every year since. They posted their best results in 2023 and 2024, finishing 10th overall and narrowly missing out on the Final Round. They also came close to securing an Olympic berth in Paris.
Guidetti is one of the most accomplished coaches in the sport, with four Olympic campaigns on his CV. He has a track record of elevating national teams and will look to do the same here. The 52-year-old Italian will have key pieces to work with, as he has star outside hitter Kiera Van Ryk spearheading the attack and Brie King setting the tone with her valuable experience.
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