The Ukrainian volleyball team celebrated its fourth victory in the Nations League. This time, they faced Japan, one of the strongest teams in the world (ranked 4th globally) and a leader in the tournament standings.

The match ended with a score of 3:2.

The Japanese team could have left empty-handed, as Ukraine had the first set point in the opening set. However, failing to convert it, they gave away two points to their opponents.

In the second set, the "blue and yellow" team took revenge and sensationally defeated Japan with a comfortable margin. The third set followed the same scenario, with Ukraine leading the score.

The "blue and yellow" team started leading again in the next set, and it seemed that victory was within reach. But midway through the fourth set, the revamped Japanese squad leveled the score. The tense battle concluded with Japan’s victory.

The decisive outcome was determined in a tiebreak, where Ukraine managed to seize the win. Special mention goes to Illia Kovalov, who performed excellently in the first three sets and contributed significantly to the team’s score. However, he made a few mistakes at crucial moments.

Nations League 2025
Group Stage, 7 matches
June 27

Ukraine – Japan 3:2 (24:26, 25:17, 25:18, 23:25, 15:13)

It’s worth noting that the Ukrainians defeated the USA, had an incredible match against Cuba, and left no chances for Turkey, but unfortunately lost to Brazil, Iran, and France. This is Ukraine's debut in the Nations League.

The next match for the "blue and yellow" team will be on June 29 against Bulgaria. The full schedule of the Ukrainian team’s games in the tournament can be found HERE.

As part of the preparation for the LN-2025, the Ukrainian national team played in the international Silesia Cup-2025 tournament. In the first round, Raúl Lozano's team defeated Poland, in the second they lost to Germany, and in the third they were stronger than Bulgaria.