Host nation China defeated the United States 3-2 last night to book a place in the semi-finals of the “Women’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) – Finals Macao 2026 presented by Galaxy Entertainment Group”.
Roared on by a vocal crowd at the Macao East Asian Games Dome in Cotai, China recovered after dropping the opening set 15-25 to defeat the Americans 25-23, 25-20, 17-25, 15-13 in a gripping five-set quarter-final.
The victory sends the host nation into the last four, where they will face Turkey tomorrow for a place in Sunday’s championship match. According to a statement by Volleyball World, China entered the Finals as hosts after finishing ninth in the preliminary phase with a 6-6 record, narrowly missing automatic qualification.
The US, meanwhile, topped the standings with 10 wins, edging defending champions Italy on set ratio to claim first place, the statement underlined.
After a one-sided opening set, China responded strongly in the second set by applying sustained pressure from the service line before edging the Americans 25-23 to level the match. The hosts maintained their momentum in the third set, building a five-point advantage late on before closing it out 25-20 to move within one set of victory.
The US regrouped in the fourth, improving their attacking efficiency to force a deciding set with a 25-17 win. China, however, held their nerve in a tense fifth set, eventually prevailing 15-13 to complete one of the biggest upsets of this year’s tournament.
Earlier yesterday, Turkey recovered from losing the opening set to defeat Canada 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-17), eliminating the Canadians in their first-ever VNL Finals appearance.
In the opening matches on Wednesday, defending champions Italy swept the Netherlands 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-16), while Brazil defeated Japan 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-16, 25-20).
The semi-finals, scheduled for tomorrow, will see Brazil face Italy before China take on Turkey, with the winners advancing to Sunday’s final.
Today is the tournament’s rest day.
Players of the host team celebrate their 3-2 victory after beating the US last night at the tournament in this handout photo provided by Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG).
China and the US face off during last night’s quarter-finals of the “Women’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) – Finals Macao 2026 presented by Galaxy Entertainment Group” at the Macao East Asian Games Dome in Cotai. – Photo: Khalel Vallo
