Dominating Cuba, Italy secures early qualification to the Round of 16 at the 2025 Women's Volleyball World Championship

The Italian women's volleyball squad confirmed their position as top contenders for this year's World Championship with a decisive win against Cuba.

Italy's women's volleyball team clinched their spot in the Round of 16 at the 2025 Women's World Championship after a convincing 3-0 (25-9; 25-8; 25-16) win over Cuba in the match that concluded tonight, August 24, Vietnam time.

Facing a less favored opponent, Italy’s superior skill completely dominated the match, leaving Cuba no chance to score or create any surprises. Powerful spikes from Paola Egonu, Miriam Sylla, and captain Anna Danesi helped Italy build an early 10-point lead.

From the score of 15-5 onwards, Cuba struggled to score against Italy’s well-organized defense. Lianet Garcia and her teammates managed only 4 more points in the rest of the first set, suffering a heavy 9-25 defeat.

A similar pattern unfolded in the second set as Cuba was unable to withstand Italy’s overpowering offense. A 9-1 scoring run at the start of the set crushed the Caribbean team’s morale, with Italy extending the lead to 10 points and eventually winning the set by an 18-point margin.

Given the lopsided score and dominant gameplay, Italy’s coach Julio Velasco gave some bench players a chance in the third set. Cuba performed better, but the skill gap remained too wide. Russian-born Italian opposite hitter Ekaterina Antropova entered the game and played impressively, helping the European side close the match in just three sets.

Paola Egonu was Italy’s top scorer with 12 points, followed by Anna Danesi with 11 points and Miriam Sylla and Stella Nervini, each with 7 points. On the Cuban side, Dezirett Madan Rosales stood out with 5 points, while Lianet Garcia—who played as a foreign player for VTV Bình Điền Long An in the first phase of the national league—did not score any points.

Two consecutive wins have secured Italy and Belgium’s advancement from Group B—an unsurprising outcome. With the dominant form they've shown in major tournaments over the past two years, Egonu and her teammates are aiming for their first World Championship title in 23 years.

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