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Lausanne, Switzerland, May 29, 2019 – Hosts Italy will play against reigning champions the United States to decide which team will keep their unbeaten start going in the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League on Wednesday.

Both teams could become the first team to win their first five matches of a single VNL campaign. The two squads have tied the record established by the Netherlands in 2018 when the Dutch won their first four matches.

Indre Sorokaite currently leads scoring for Italy, with Paola Egonu also making her mark for Italy in their four set victory against the Dominican Republic on Tuesday, while Ofelia Malinov currently sits second in the competition's best setter stats. Andrea Drews leads the United States' attack with a 52.44% success rate, and is also her team's top scorer, while Haleigh Washington has scored a total of eight aces.

The contest between the two teams in Pool 5 in Conegliano is also thrilling because of the slight winning edge that USA have against Italy in 37 outings. USA lead by one victory in their total of 19 wins against Italy’s 18.

However, Italy have the 3-1 winning advantage in their last four encounters. Italy lost to USA at the 2018 VNL. The European side bounced back to beat USA in four sets at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship in Japan.



The United States have started their 2019 VNL with four wins – straight-set wins over Belgium and Bulgaria and a four-set victory over Japan and Serbia.

“We are proud of our team,” USA coach Karch Kiraly said. “We’ve been working very hard to improve and learn, and get better each play.”

Italy won against Poland in a tie-break, Thailand and Germany in straight sets and the Dominican Republic in four sets. Last year they lost their first four VNL matches before winning 10 of the other 11 encounters.

“The most difficult aspect of modern volleyball and this tournament is that every year all teams present new combinations of players,” Italy coach Davide Mazzanti said. “However, the most important thing in a competition like this is to win.”



The reigning world champions Serbia will play the Dominican Republic to bounce back after losing their opening matches in Conegliano. The two squads will face off at the Zoppas Arena at 17:00 local.

In Ankara, Pool 6 play will continue with the match of Japan and Russia at 14:30 local time, followed by the encounter between Germany and hosts Turkey at 17:30. The hosts are looking to recover from their loss to Japan after opening with three victories at the 2019 VNL.

An all-Asian derby will start play at 16:30 local time in Pool 7 in Macau, as Korea and Thailand meet for the second time at the VNL. Olympic champions China are facing Belgium at 19:30 local time, hoping to extend their winning streak against the European team.



In Apeldoorn, the high-scoring Malwina Smarzek will lead Poland in their match against Brazil in Pool 8 at 16:30 local time, followed by the match of hosts Netherlands and Bulgaria at 19:30.