The 2025 Volleyball Nations League: A Season Preview
“However, what I know for certain is that this year’s Nations League looks to be one of the best years ever, since many players are having their national debut, others are leaving the scene, and returning players are hoping to find their first or next medal.”
As the summer approaches, the leagues of volleyball around the world come to end. Countries prepare to bring their best volleyball players for the yearly Volleyball Nations League (VNL). Besides the major leagues in Japan, Italy, Russia and more, Volleyball Nations League is the highest level of volleyball played in the world. Teams from partnered countries for both men and women compete against each other for the duration of 3 weeks (women don't play the same week as men). Each week is played in different cities across the globe, with multiple teams playing in different parts of the world at the same time. 6 teams per city, 3 cities per week for men and women. After the 3 weeks, the teams who qualify through wins (points for tie breakers) will compete in a single elimination bracket tournament to crown the gold medalist and the 2025 champions of VNL.
After last year’s VNL and Paris Olympics, my expectations for some teams are different for this upcoming Volleyball Nations League. On the side for men, I figured that France, Japan, and China are my main countries of focus, while for women, the Dominican Republic, South Korea, and Brazil are my countries of focus. As stated before, these expectations will be determined by the 2024 VNL season and Paris Olympics. With expectations come the inevitable predictions. So if you’re a fan of VNL, you may have some disagreements with my statements.
China (Men)
During the 2023 VNL season, China was a team that struggled to get wins during the season. Their ending record was 1-11 after the preliminary phase. This meant that they wouldn’t qualify for playoffs and would miss out on the 2024 VNL season. This wasn’t the end for China’s national men’s team, as they would participate in the 2024 FIVB Challenger Cup. They ended up being the winners of the entire competition, securing gold medal and qualification for the 2025 VNL season.
The roster for China has seen some changes since 2023 and with their performance in the Challengers Cup. It is clear that this team has improved since their last VNL appearance. Although China has improved as a team, this does not make me think they will make it far into this year’s VNL. The reason why I say this is because current teams like France, Canada, and the United States have been really dominant in recent years. While other teams overall have more experience at the top stage against the toughest teams, China has to go up with a half new roster. I’m not saying China will have a 1-11 record like they did in 2023, but their record won't be good enough for playoff contention. By the end of the VNL season, I expect China to have a 3-9 record.
France (Men)
Last year was nothing short of amazing for France and their men’s national team. After failing to become back to back champions in 2023, France was set out to reclaim their crown and become champions of the 2024 Volleyball Nations League. That wish came true when they reached the finals and went against Japan to become gold medalist in 4 sets. To add to their legacy, the Paris Olympics was the best stage possible for them to repeat gold medals in one year. In front of their home crowd, France beat Poland in 3 straight sets to become not only champions of VNL, but the Olympics as well.
Looking ahead into the 2025 season, my expectations for France are high. Throughout recent years they have been great performers in VNL and consistent in the Olympics, pulling off a gold medal. This does not mean they will go perfect this year, as I expect some upsets coming up against teams like Cuba or Bulgaria, who have talent like Miguel Lopez and Moni Nikolov. By the end of the season, I predict France will have a 10-2 record and reach the finals of VNL.
Japan (Men)
In 2024, team Japan had its ups and downs. Securing a silver medal in VNL, losing to France 1-3 in the grand finals. However, the true heartbreaks wouldn’t arrive until the Olympics. After a heartbreaking loss and reverse sweep to Italy in the Paris Olympics, Japan’s head coach who has been with the team since 2017 announced that he would be leaving the national team alongside middle blocker Akihiro Yamauchi. Although their starting opposite hitter Yuji Nishida announced he would be taking a break from the national team, Kento Miyaura is the perfect replacement for Nishida.
Starting in 2025, Laurent Tillie will be the new head coach of Japan’s national volleyball team. He led the Osaka Blueton, a pro volleyball team in Japan’s SV.League to number one in the regular season standings. I believe he can lead the team to a great record this year. However, it will still take some time for players to adjust to the new coaching style and absence from Nishida and their vet Yamauchi. In the end I can see team Japan getting a solid 9-3 record, the same as last year and reaching the finals for a potential rematch against France.
Brazil (Women)
2024 by far was the most heartbreaking year for the Brazilian national team. The women had a flawless record of 12-0 and looked like favorites to win all of VNL. During the playoffs, Brazil got off with a win against Thailand in the first round. However, when it was time to play Japan in the semi-finals, Japan took the win against Brazil with a final set score of 3-2 in a close match. Ending Brazil’s chances of getting a gold medal, and putting them down to the bronze medal match in which they then lost against Poland.
2025 is the year Brazil makes it to the final. They still have their core from last year, and their star outside hitter Gabi Guimaraes has had a phenomenal season in the Legavolley Femminile in Italy. Expectations for this team are still high, leading us to hope and expect that Brazil has another undefeated regular season with a 12-0 record. The end goal is the gold medal, which is what many fans believe Brazil will achieve in the 2025 of the VNL season.
South Korea (Women)
The 2024 VNL season was filled with disappointment for South Korea. Struggling to get wins and ending with a heartbreaking record of 2-10 without contention in playoffs. Although they weren’t the only team to go 2-10, things have yet to look great for the Koreans as we look into the 2025 season of VNL. Their hope of playing one final year with star and vet Yeon Koung-Kim was shut down after she retired from professional volleyball.
Looking at the roster for South Korea’s 2025 national team, Korean fans can hope that the newer players can bring power to the national team. A player who was on the team last year who I believe will have a breakout season will be Jiyun Moon, since she should be seeing more time on the court. No city in South Korea will hold VNL this year so the chances of South Korea making the playoffs will be determined by their winning record. In reality South Korea with the change in roster can get a reasonable 4-8 record this year.
Dominican Republic (Women)
Similar to South Korea, the Dominican Republic didn’t have a season they would like to remember in last year’s VNL, ending the season with just one win over Bulgaria, South Korea, and France with a 3-9 record. During the Olympics, Dominican Republic didn’t qualify for playoffs after failing to make it out of the group stage. However, this didn’t mean that they ended the year without looking forward to the 2025 VNL season.
During the Paris Olympics women’s 400m race, Dominican Republic came out with the gold medal after Marileidy Paulino ended the race in 48.17 seconds. I feel like this win has motivated the Dominican Republic national team to strive for greatness in the upcoming years, including this year. It will be hard but I see the team ending with a solid 7-5 record and potentially qualifying for playoffs.
Closing Statements
In the end volleyball at the national level can still be an unpredictable sport. Determining how well a team will do throughout the season is still difficult, since teams can easily switch out players for coaches and staff they deem better. It’s not like pro leagues where teams have players under multi-year contracts. However, what I know for certain is that this year’s Nations League looks to be one of the best years ever, since many players are having their national debut, others are leaving the scene, and returning players are hoping to find their first or next medal. All aiming to be the best of the best and earning the right to hold up the gold medal.