The third place match of the Volleyball Nations League 2025 Men's Final Round was held in Ningbo (China) on Sunday, August 3rd, with Brazil defeating Slovenia 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-19) to take third place.
Match Overview
In the first set, Brazil maintained the lead until the middle of the match, scoring points through attacks from OP Alan and MB Matheus, but Slovenia made a comeback in the final minutes with attacks from OP Stern and attacks and blocks from OH Mozic, taking the lead 23-25.
In the second set, Brazil led from start to finish, scoring five blocks, attacks by OH Honorato, and service aces. Slovenia also made a strong showing with attacks by OH Mozic, but the team made many mistakes, and Brazil took the set 25-20.
In the third set, Slovenia took a big lead at 3-8 early on thanks to attacks from OP Mujanovic and mistakes from Brazil, but Brazil quickly caught up with them at 10-10 thanks to consecutive blocks from MB Matheus. From there, Brazil scored points from OP Alan and Slovenia from OH Mozic, leading to a 23-23 score, but a Slovenian serve error gave Brazil a set point, and OP Darlan, who had been substituted in, scored a service ace to seal the set at 25-23.
In the fourth set, Brazil extended their lead to 16-11 midway through the match thanks to attacks by OP Alan, blocks by MB Flavio, and a series of Slovenia mistakes. Slovenia tried to break through by making two substitutions, but Brazil continued to side out with a variety of attacks, and in the end, a Slovenia serve mistake made it 25-19, giving Brazil a 3-1 victory.
Brazil - Slovenia
3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-19)
Brazil
Starting line-up: OH Lucarelli (7), MB Matheus (11), OP Alan (18), OH Onorato (5), MB Flavio (8), S Fernando (2), L Maiki
In the middle: S Mateus (0), OH Adriano (0), OH Arthur (9), OP Darlan (4)
Slovenia
Starting line-up: OH Mozic (21), MB Kuzic (0), OP Stern (10), OH Stern (5), MB Kozamelnik (5), S Praninšić (2), L Kovacic
In the middle: OH Bračko (1), MB Štarekar (5), OP Mujanovic (9), S Najdic (0).
Match stats▼
https://vnlm.volleystation.com/en/matches/2227713/
personal MVP
Matheus Bispo
Middle Blocker
208cm
11 points (6 attacks, 4 blocks, 1 serve)
Attack Effectiveness Rate 55%
He was a middle blocker who contributed to the team's bronze medal with 11 points, second only to his opposite Alan. He put a lot of pressure on the Slovenian team with his high blocks, sharp quickness, and powerful serves. He also placed second in the blocker rankings and second in the server rankings in the overall final round, leaving impressive numbers. Although he narrowly missed out on the Best Middle Blocker award, his performance was comparable to that of the others.
Rok Možič
Outside hitter
200cm
21 points (18 attacks, 3 blocks)
Attack Effectiveness Rate 30%
He was the most scored player on both teams. His passionate and powerful side was evident throughout the match. He showed stability not only on the offensive side but also on the defensive side, supporting his team on both ends. Unfortunately, just like last year, the VNL finished in fourth place this year, but we hope to see him wreak havoc again at the World Championships in the Philippines, where there are many Mozic fans.
Toshiki's comment
Brazil and Slovenia, both with their liberos Maiki and Kovacic at the center, both had very good defenses, and it was a match where rallies continued without any attack points being scored. The fact that the match lasted over two hours, even though it didn't go to a full set, also speaks for itself.
The odds were that Brazil would have been the big favorites.
Brazil actually led the first set, but Slovenia made a sudden comeback towards the end and took the win. It seemed like they would carry that momentum into the second set, but Brazil easily won the second set.
Slovenia was leading again at the beginning of the third set. At this point, I thought Slovenia might win the third and fourth sets and take the bronze medal. They had also won the quarterfinal against France, taking the first, third and fourth sets, and Mozic seemed to be in good form, so they seemed to have a lot of momentum.
However, a block from Matheus tied the score, and the game became a seesaw battle. The final ace from Darlan with all his might at 24-23 was a spectacular performance.
The fourth set was a close one at the beginning, but it seemed as though Slovenia lost concentration midway through. Or perhaps it was because they couldn't keep up with Brazil, who had stepped up their game. Either way, the score fell apart in the middle of the set, and Slovenia was unable to close the gap thereafter.
To be honest, I don't think Brazil was in very good form that day. The two outside hitters who were actually in the starting lineup, Lucarelli and Onorato, were not very effective in attack.
However, their serve and block worked well, their opposite Alan was stable, and their setter Fernando made an impression by aggressively using the middle shot. Also, Artur, the outside hitter who came in midway through, performed well.
On the other hand, as mentioned above, Slovenia's Mozic was in very good form, but on the other hand, fellow outside player Dziga Štern struggled on both offense and defense, and both opposites Toncek Štern and Mujanovic were inconsistent in their performance.
As the match progressed, the quality of Slovenia's setter Praninsic's sets declined, and the attackers often struggled to hit the ball well. Even when Naidic came on as a substitute in the fourth set, his sets were also a little low, and the attackers were not able to make the most of their chances. In that sense, it could be said that the difference in the setter ultimately paid off.
This is Brazil's first medal at the VNL in four years and their first medal at a major world tournament in three years since their bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships.
Brazil finished first in the qualifiers and showed a more polished style of volleyball than the other teams, but there is still much room for improvement ahead of the World Championships, with the growth of young players such as Bergman and Arthur, and the improvement in the condition of Lucarelli after his return from injury.
Just like last year, Slovenia lost in the third-place match and finished in fourth place, which was a disappointing result, but it can be seen as a very positive thing that they managed to get this far with a team mainly made up of young players, with half of last year's main members such as Urnarto and Lopret missing.
I myself did not expect this team to even make it to the top eight, and it was a huge surprise when they beat France in the quarterfinals.
We hope that both teams will improve their level of completion by the time of the World Championships and show even higher quality volleyball in the Philippines.
▶ Start your free trial with U-NEXT now
Related links
Photo: FIVB
English 
Japanese