Three of the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment supported teams in the women’s Volleyball Nations League 2026 managed to produce some big upsets during the second competition week. Canada won three of their four matches, including the one against the bronze medalists of the previous three seasons Poland, and emerged as the highest placed Empowerment team in the current VNL standings at the end of week two. Germany handed mighty Brazil their first loss of the season, while the Dominican Republic did the same with Japan.
Playing in Bangkok, Canada started their week with four-set wins over the Netherlands and Bulgaria, but then suffered a four-set loss to hosts Thailand. In their last match of the week on Sunday, the North Americans battled it out for a surprising 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 25-16, 11-25, 15-13) victory over the strong team of Poland with a match-high 26 points from their opposite Kiera Van Ryk and an impressive six kill blocks from middle and captain Emily Maglio (pictured in the main photo). During the week, Van Ryk also achieved an important milestone, scoring her 1,000th career point in the VNL. By the end of the week, she was already at 1,064, and also the leader in three of the individual rankings in VNL 2026 – for best scorers, for best attackers and for best servers. Maglio, on the other hand, is on top of the best blockers chart. Canada climbed to seventh place in the VNL table on a 5-3 win-loss record and 15 points, standing as the only Empowerment team above the cut-off line for the Finals in China.
Empowerment-supported Germany achieved a thrilling ending to a thrilling week in Ankara, in which they played three tie-breakers, losing to mighty China and hosts Turkiye, but finally emerging with a nail-biting 3-2 (26-24, 28-26, 15-25, 19-25, 16-14) victory over Brazil on Sunday. For the number two team in the FIVB World Ranking and four-time VNL silver medalists, it was the first setback since the start of the competition and, on 7-1 and 20, they gave up their lead in the table to the United States on set ratios. The Germans also shut out Belgium and are now 11th on 3-5 and 11, still well in contention for the quarterfinal spots.
After a winless first week, the Dominican Republic managed to push up from the bottom of the VNL standings during the second. Following six consecutive defeats, on Saturday, the Caribbean Queens beat none other than the invincible Japan, who had not suffered any losses in their first six matches of the season. The Dominicans came back from a set down to mount a 3-1 (17-25, 25-20, 28-26, 25-23) victory. They also pushed Czechia to five on Sunday and now stand second from the bottom, but above the relegation zone, on 1-7 and 5.
Empowered Thailand were the other winless team at the end of the first competition week, but managed to delight the fantastic home crowd in Bangkok with their first two victories of the season – 3-0 over Bulgaria and 3-1 over Canada – rising to 14th place on 2-6 and 9.
Among the other Empowerment teams, the Netherlands, with 12 points, and Czechia, with 11, stand ninth and tenth on 4-4 each, both with realistic shots at the Finals, while Belgium, standing 12th on 3-5 and 8, could also pull off a rise during the last competition week of the Preliminary Phase to book a ticket to the quarterfinals in Macau. Last week, Belgium forced Brazil to a tie-breaker, and later beat France in a tie-breaker, while their star outside hitter Britt Herbots tied Turkish counterpart Ebrar Karakurt’s all-time record 1,328 career VNL points scored. Her teammate Pauline Martin is second to Van Ryk in the best scorers chart of the season so far.
At the top end of the table, USA and Brazil are the only teams on 7-1 after two competition weeks. Defending VNL titleholders and reigning world and Olympic champions Italy are in third place on 6-2 and 18, followed by Poland (17 points), Japan (16) and Turkiye (15), also on 6-2 win-loss records.
The 18 participating women’s teams will get back in action for the deciding third competition week from July 8 to 12, with pools played in Osaka, Japan, in Hong Kong, China and in Belgrade, Serbia. It is now the men’s turn for their second VNL 2026 competition week from June 24 to 28.
