The United States mounted a stunning comeback from two sets down to defeat Canada, while Brazil continued unbeaten run with a convincing straight-sets victory over Serbia.
In Ottawa, 20-year-old opposite Cole Hartke delivered strong performance, scoring 33 points to lead the Americans to a 3-2 victory after Canada had taken the opening two sets. The hosts looked on course for a major win after edging a thrilling second set, but the United States gradually seized momentum and completed the reverse sweep.
Hartke starred with 24 attack points, six blocks and three aces, while Merrick McHenry added 15 points. The victory kept the United States unbeaten at 3-0 and second in the standings. Canada had five players reach double figures, led by Xander Ketrzynski’s 21 points, but fell to a 1-2 record.
In Brasilia, Brazil impressed in front of a packed crowd, sweeping previously unbeaten Serbia 3-0 to move to the top of the VNL standings. Middle blocker Judson Nunes led the way with 13 points, while Darlan Souza and Douglas Souza added 10 points each. Serbia suffered its first loss of the tournament despite 11 points from Nikola Brboric.
In other matches, Slovenia maintained perfect start but again was pushed to five sets by Cuba before securing a hard-fought victory. Rok Mozic led the Slovenians with 25 points. Cuba collected first point of the season despite remaining winless.
Bulgaria also continued strong form, recovering from a set down to defeat Argentina 3-1. Aleksandar Nikolov once again stole the spotlight with 26 points, extending his lead as the tournament’s top scorer.
Italy wrapped up the day’s action with a straight-sets win over Turkiye. Francesco Sani scored 15 points as the reigning world champions improved to 2-1 in the competition.
Saturday’s VNL 2026 Results
- USA def. Canada 3-2 (20-25, 33-35, 26-24, 25-21, 15-11)
- Brazil def. Serbia 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-22)
- Slovenia def. Cuba 3-2 (25-15, 26-28, 19-25, 25-14, 15-11)
- Bulgaria def. Argentina 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-23)
- Italy def. Turkiye 3-0 (29-27, 25-14, 25-20)
