Italy made sure to take all three points this time, bouncing back with a statement straight-sets sweep of Czechia, 25–17, 25–21, 25–22, to open its Week 2 campaign in the 2026 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League, presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, on Wednesday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Coming off a heartbreaking five-set defeat to Brazil in a rematch of last year’s final, Ekaterina Antropova and the rest of the Azzurre responded strongly against a determined Czechia side, especially in the third set.
The 23-year-old Italian fired back-to-back service aces—her fifth and sixth of the afternoon—to stretch Italy’s lead to 17–8 and seize full control of the set.
Eva Svobodova attempted to spark a Czechia fightback from the service line, trimming the gap to 14–17, but Italy—led by Stella Nervini and Antropova—shut the door on the comeback attempt to complete the sweep.
“We’re happy to start a new week. We knew that playing against Brazil in Brazil is really hard, and we are really happy with the result. It was not fun losing, but yeah, it’s a good match to learn from. Today, I think we had a good start. We had a few moments in the game, but we were able to stay as a team,” Antropova shared.
The reigning champions weathered an early push from their European counterparts, who kept pace throughout the opening set before eventually conceding it. Czechia, in only its second year in the league, leaned on its net defense—with four different players contributing successful reads—and its service game to stay competitive.
However, once Italy found its rhythm in finishing points, it pulled away late in the opening set, with Sarah Fahr leading the way with six points, including the set-winning spike.
The second set followed a similar pattern, with Czechia staying within striking distance before the Olympic champions strung together three straight points to go up two sets to none, highlighted by Antropova’s third ace of the match.
Antropova anchored Italy’s offense from the second set onward, finishing with 21 points on 14 attacks, one block, and six aces. Fahr added 13 points built on 12 kills and a block, while Carlotta Cambi orchestrated the offense with 15 excellent sets.
Italy, now 4–1 in the tournament, will aim for back-to-back wins when it faces Serbia on Thursday at 8 p.m.
For Czechia, Monika Brancuska and Michaela Mlejnkova finished with 16 and 11 points, respectively, but their efforts were not enough to counter Antropova’s serving pressure and Italy’s steady defense.
The Central European side dropped to 3–2 and slipped just outside the top eight following Canada’s four-set win over the Netherlands earlier in Bangkok, Thailand.
Czechia will look to bounce back against the in-form United States in its next assignment, also on Thursday at 4 p.m.
