The fifth season of the Volleyball Nations League will start on May 30

LAUSANE, Switzerland, February 16, 2023-The women’s national teams of Germany and the Netherlands will get the fifth season of the Volleyball Nations League underway on May 30. The two European teams will meet in a Pool 2 match in Nagoya, Japan, starting at 16:10 local time (07:10 UTC) to begin the race towards the Finals. 

The VNL 2023 match schedule is now available, and you can find out when your favorite teams will play. During the Preliminary Phase, each team will play a total of 12 games over three competition weeks. The top seven teams will then join the host teams, the United States for women and Poland for men, at the Finals. 

Volleyball Nations League 2023: full schedule 

The week one women’s pool in Nagoya will also feature an exciting Asian Classic between hosts Japan and China, which will take place on June 4 at 19:10 (10:10). The pool also includes Bulgaria, Croatia, the Dominican Republic and three-time VNL silver medalists Brazil. 

On the same dates, the national teams of Canada, Italy, Korea, Poland, Serbia, Thailand, the United States and hosts Türkiye will start their campaigns in Pool 1 in Antalya. 

During the second competition week, from June 13 through 18, the women’s teams will be split between Pool 3 in Hong Kong and Pool 4 in Brasilia. The pool in Asia will culminate with hosts China taking on defending VNL champions Italy in the last match on the program, at 20:30 (12:30) on June 18. The fans in the Brazilian capital will be able to see their home favorites play against reigning world champions Serbia on June 15 at 21:00 local time (00:00 UTC on June 16) and against reigning Olympic champions USA on June 18 at 10:00 (13:00). 

In the last week of the women’s Preliminary Phase, the two pools will take place in Asia, in Korea and Thailand. Two-time VNL bronze medalists China will play some big matches in Suwon, while the charismatic Thai team that made headlines by upsetting a number of strong opponents in 2022 will entertain their faithful fans in Bangkok with games against the Netherlands on June 27, against four-time semifinalists and two-time medalists Türkiye on June 29, against Asian rivals Japan on July 1, and against mighty Brazil on July 2, always starting at 20:30 local time (13:30). Last year’s finalists Italy and Brazil will meet on June 28, also at 20:30 (13:30) in Bangkok. 

The women’s Finals in Arlington, Texas will start on July 12 with the first two quarterfinals. The gold medal match is scheduled at 17:30 (22:30) on July 16. 

The men’s VNL will also begin in Nagoya, but exactly a week after the women's first pools, on June 6 at 16:10 local time (07:10 UTC). China will take on Bulgaria, before hosts Japan play Asian powerhouse Iran. In what is likely to be the most anticipated match that week in Nagoya, defending VNL titleholders France will meet three-time medalists Poland on June 7 at 18:00 (09:00). 

Ottawa will also see plenty of VNL action during the first week of men’s competition. Hosts Canada will open their campaign against rookies Cuba on June 6 at 20:00 local time (00:00 UTC on June 7). The North American duel with their neighbors from the United States is scheduled on June 10 at the same time. Three-time medalists USA will also engage in top-level battles with Italy on June 8 and with Brazil on June 11. 

The second week of men’s competition will be held from June 20 through 25 and will be played in Europe. The Dutch city of Rotterdam will host the first remake of last year’s FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship final between Italy and Poland on June 25 at 12:30 (10:30). Four and a half hours later, the fans in Orleans will get to cheer on Olympic champs France as they finish their home campaign with a game against Brazil. 

The last week of Preliminary Phase action will open with another big game, between Italy and Brazil, who will lock horns in Pasay City in the Philippines on July 4 at 11:00 (03:00), followed by an all-Asian battle between Japan and China. Poland and Brazil will meet three days later, at 11:00 (03:00). 

Meanwhile, Pool 5 competition in Anaheim will be highlighted by a number of unpredictable matches, with a particularly exciting day coming up on July 8, when the program begins with a clash between Balkan neighbors Bulgaria and Serbia at 13:30 (20:30), continues with a duel between Olympic bronze medalists Argentina and Asian champions Iran at 17:00 (00:00 UTC on July 9), and reaches a climax with hosts USA battling against France at 20:30 (03:30 UTC on July 9). 

The Finals showdown in the northern Polish city of Gdansk will start with the first two quarterfinals on July 19 and end with the trophy game on July 23 at 20:30 (18:30).