Holders Italy maintain unbeaten Volleyball Nations League run with second win in Hong Kong
World No 1 side earn fourth victory in five recent matches while Dominican Republic get much-needed win as China team enjoy rest day
Reigning champions Italy flexed their muscles to earn their second Women’s Volleyball Nations League victory in as many outings in the Hong Kong leg, beating Belgium comfortably 3-0 on Friday.
Despite the seemingly one-sided scoreline, Belgium were able to go toe to toe with their European counterparts for the first half of the opening set, until Italy pulled away late to take it 25-20.
The world No 1 side then stormed to a 6-1 lead in the second set and did not look back. Another 7-1 run towards the end of the set helped double their lead with a 25-16 score.
Italy continued to dominate thereafter, establishing an early lead before taking the third set 25-19 to seal a convincing win. Ekaterina Antropova of Italy led all scorers with 23 points. Belgium’s Pauline Martin was her team’s top scorer with 13.
The win marked their fourth victory in five recent matches as the three-time champions, who also won in 2022 and 2024, continued to build up for their final two regular season matches against Canada and China this weekend.
Earlier, the Dominican Republic earned a much-needed 3-2 victory over Ukraine to lift themselves out of the relegation spot, but only after they almost squandered a two-set lead and a late push from the Europeans to survive a five-set test.