Top-caliber stars headline women’s VNL rosters

May 8, 2025.- A long line of international stars of the highest caliber headline their national team rosters for the upcoming edition of the women’s Volleyball Nations League 2025.

As the 30-player team lists were finalized and published on the VNL competition website, a number of stellar names attract the fans’ attention in exciting anticipation of the first major event on the 2025 volleyball national team calendar.

VNL 2025: Women’s team rosters (subject to eligibility verification to be conducted by the FIVB)

Defending VNL champions Italy will once again be led by two-time VNL Most Valuable Player Paola Egonu, who was also named MVP of the Paris 2024 Olympic volleyball tournament. In fact, most of the reigning Olympic champions are back on coach Julio Velasco’s squad, including Olympic Dream Teamers Alessia Orro, Anna Danesi, Myriam Sylla and Monica De Gennaro.

In the absence of retired Sarina Koga, VNL 2024 runners-up Japan will be led by new captain Mayu Ishikawa. Rising star Yoshino Sato is also on the team. VNL 2024 Dream Team libero Manami Kojima is among the many other stars in new coach Ferhat Akbas’s selection.

The Best Middle Blocker of last year’s edition, Agnieszka Korneluk, highlights the stellar squad of bronze medalists Poland, along with the likes of fabulous Magdalena Stysiak and rising star Martyna Czyrnianska.

Brazil, who finished fourth in VNL 2024 and took bronze at the Olympics, will feature a long line of outstanding athletes, headlined by their charismatic captain Gabriela Guimaraes, a Paris 2024 Dream Team outside hitter, and featuring quality players like Julia Bergmann, Kisy Nascimento, Rosamaria Montibeller, Macris Carneiro, etc.

Three-time VNL champions and Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalists USA are putting forward a very strong line-up as usual, highlighted by Jordyn Poulter, Avery Skinner, Alexandra Frantti and many others.

The reigning crown bearers of the last two editions of the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship Serbia will be spearheaded by prominent opposite Tijana Boskovic, while her powerful Turkish counterpart Melissa Vargas will lead the reigning European champions and semifinalists at Paris 2024. Among more experienced players like Teodora Pusic, Katarina Lazovic and Maja Aleksic, younger-generation athletes like Hena Kurtagic are expected to shine on Zoran Terzic’s squad, while Daniele Santarelli seems to have kept a core of established Turkish players like Zehra Gunes, Hande Baladin, Ebrar Karakurt, Cansu Ozbay, etc.

Asian champions Thailand, who are getting ready to host the World Championship later this year, are set to offer a solid presence in the VNL with the likes of Chatchu-On Moksri, Pimpichaya Kokram or captain Ajcharaporn Kongyot on the squad. NORCECA champions Dominican Republic will also rely on their top-caliber stars like Brayelin and Jineiry Martinez, Yonkaira Pena or Brenda Castillo.

There will be plenty of world-class talent on the other nine teams as well – Belgium’s Britt Herbots, Bulgaria’s Zhana Todorova, Canada’s Kiera Van Ryk, China’s Gong Xiangyu, Czechia’s Helena Grozer, France’s Helena Cazaute, Germany’s Anna Pogany, Korea’s Kang Sohwi, or Netherlands’ Nika Daalderop, to name a few.

The current lists of 30 players per team are not completely final, as the head coaches can make up to two replacements within the next week. Then, for the participation in each competition week of the VNL, a team line-up of 12-14 players and up to four reserve players is selected among the 30 on the long list.