Ukraine secured their first-ever win in the 2026 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) on Friday after beating Germany in five sets, 25-21, 30-28, 14-25, 19-25, 15-13, in Quebec City, Canada.
Ukraine’s women’s squad started strong in the first two sets before losing the next two to their fellow Europeans.
Outside hitter Oleksandra Milenko had to dig deep to help her squad beat the Germans in the fifth set and earn their first win in 2026 VNL competition.
Milenko ended the match with 22 points, supported by opposite hitter Viktoriia Danchak’s 17 points.
Young German player Leana Grozer led the scoring department for her country with 22 points.
Historic debut
Ukraine’s first VNL win came a few days after making their historic debut in the prestigious volleyball competition.
They took over South Korea’s spot in this year’s VNL after finishing as the highest-ranked nation not yet part of the elite competition last year.
The United States women’s team defeated the young squad in three sets on Wednesday, 25-16, 25-17, 25-23, but the match served as a major milestone for Ukraine.
FIVB has been supporting Ukraine’s national team programme since 2022 under its Volleyball Empowerment initiative.
The international federation signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine’s management to ensure the continuous development of the sport in the country amid the ongoing war.
US head coach Erik Sullivan also praised the Ukrainian squad for putting up a good fight, especially in the tight third set of the match.
“We want to see everyone’s best. It is a very good Ukraine team, very well-coached, and you could see it at the start of that third set. It was a nice job by our team bouncing back,” Sullivan said, according to the USA Volleyball website.
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What’s next?
Ukraine continues their campaign in Quebec in the next two days and will next face Japan and France as part of the 2026 VNL Week 1 stage.
The team will then fly to Thailand from June 17 to June 21 for Week 2.
Ukraine would be facing the Thai squad, Poland, the Netherlands, and Bulgaria.
Their preliminary round campaign in the 2026 VNL will be wrapped up in Hong Kong, China from July 8 to July 12.
They would have their volleyball skills tested against reigning champions Italy, China, the Dominican Republic, and Belgium.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s women’s volleyball team is also hoping to secure a spot for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics when the squad competes in the European Championship in August.
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