Defending women's Volleyball Nations League champions Italy secured the first semifinal berth of this year's edition with a commanding 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-16) sweep of the Netherlands in Macao on Wednesday, keeping their title defence firmly on track.
The world's top-ranked team needed just 70 minutes to dispatch the Dutch, demonstrating the all-around dominance that has made them back-to-back VNL champions and Olympic gold medalists. Italy outperformed the Netherlands across every statistical category — 10-3 in kill blocks, 7-2 in aces, 42-38 in spike kills.
Opposite Ekaterina Antropova led all scorers with 15 points, including three aces and three kill blocks. Outside hitter Myriam Sylla contributed 11 points, while middle blocker Sarah Fahr added 10. Captain Anna Danesi anchored the defence at the net and sparked a decisive serving run in the opening set that turned a close contest into a comfortable lead.
Italy built an early 8-3 advantage in the first set, but the Netherlands clawed back to level at 12-12 by exploiting the middle. The azzurre responded immediately: setter Alessia Orro began feeding Danesi and Fahr more effectively, while Antropova found her rhythm. A 5-0 run on Danesi's serve pushed Italy to 20-14, and Stella Nervini's spike closed the set 25-21. From that point, the match followed a one-way trajectory. Italy dominated the second and third sets across all fundamentals, extending the lead early and never looking back. Coach Julio Velasco rotated the bench, giving Paola Egonu court time through the double substitution. The only Dutch lead came early in the third set and lasted moments — Italy replied with four unanswered points and cruised to a 25-16 finish.
Elles Dambrink was the Netherlands' standout performer with 13 points, including one ace and one kill block. She was the only Dutch player to reach double digits.
"We knew that the first match was a little bit about breaking ice," Antropova told VBTV. "We needed to get some of our rhythm back, and we are really happy that we could make a lot of subs and everyone could feel the court."
Italy now await the winner of Wednesday's second quarterfinal between Brazil and Japan. Two more victories would secure a third consecutive VNL title — a feat previously achieved only by the United States in the VNL era and by Brazil during the World Grand Prix.
Sources
- https://en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/competitions/volleyball-nations-league/news/with-antropova-on-fire-italy-snatch-first-semifinal-spot-with-speedy-win-over-netherlands?
- https://www.gazzetta.it/Volley/22-07-2026/nations-league-l-italia-di-velasco-domina-l-olanda-e-conquista-la-semifinale.shtml
