Serbia Women Fall to USA in Pasig City, End VNL Week 2 Without a Win

USA Close Out an Unbeaten Week at Serbia's Expense

Serbia's women's volleyball team finished the second week of the 2026 Nations League without a victory, falling 3-1 to the United States on Sunday, 21 June 2026, in Pasig City, in the Philippines. The Pool 5 contest ended 25-22, 18-25, 25-16, 25-19 in favour of the Americans, who wrapped up Week 2 with a perfect record.

The result confirmed a tough stretch for a side ranked ninth in the world. Serbia had arrived in Manila looking to rebuild momentum, but two heavy assignments inside a few days left them searching for answers heading into the next phase of the competition.

How the Match Unfolded

The opening set set the tone. The United States edged a tight first frame 25-22, the only stretch of the evening where Serbia stayed level with their opponents deep into a set. That early advantage gave the Americans control of the rhythm and forced Serbia to chase from the front.

Serbia responded in the second. A more settled passing line and sharper work at the net carried them to a 25-18 set win that levelled the match at one apiece and briefly suggested a long night was on the cards. It was the only set the Serbians claimed.

From there the United States took over. The third set was the most one-sided of the four, the Americans pulling clear to a 25-16 margin that drained Serbia's resistance. The fourth followed a similar pattern, with the United States closing it out 25-19 to seal the match in four.

A Break From Recent History

The four-set outcome carried its own significance. It was the first time in the last four Nations League meetings between the United States and Serbia that the match did not go the full distance to a fifth set. The two nations have built a habit of trading sets deep into tie-breaks, so a result settled in four marked a clear shift in the balance of a fixture that usually goes down to the wire.

For the Americans, the win completed an unbeaten week and pushed their overall tally to 7-1, a run that underlined their form midway through the league phase. For Serbia, it closed the books on a week that produced no points from the standings race they had hoped to climb.

The Japan Heartbreak That Set the Tone

The defeat to the United States was the second blow of a difficult week. Earlier in Week 2, Serbia were dragged into a five-set thriller by Japan and came out on the wrong side of it in agonising fashion. Serbia held match points in the fourth set before losing it 30-32, then ran out of energy in the deciding tie-break, which slipped away 7-15.

That sequence was the kind that lingers. Holding match points and failing to convert, then conceding a lopsided fifth set, exposed a fragility in the closing moments that the team will want to address quickly. The Japan loss and the United States defeat together left Serbia sitting around 13th in the provisional standings.

Those swings between promise and disappointment have been a recurring theme for the national programme this season. Serbia's men's side has faced its own response tests in the Nations League, and the women now confront a similar challenge of converting competitive play into results.

Belgrade Awaits for Week 3

There is a significant lift on the horizon. Week 3 of the women's Nations League will be hosted in Belgrade, putting Serbia in front of their own crowd for the next round of matches. A home leg arrives at exactly the moment the team needs a reset, with the chance to play in familiar surroundings and draw on local support after two demanding weeks on the road.

The challenge is clear. Serbia must tighten the late-set decision-making that cost them against Japan and find a way to sustain the level they showed in their second-set win over the United States across a full match. Recent meetings with the Americans have rarely been comfortable, as a previous four-set loss to the USA demonstrated, and the Belgrade week offers a platform to turn close contests into points.

What It Means Going Forward

A winless week does not end Serbia's campaign, but it raises the stakes for the home stretch. With the team hovering in the lower half of the provisional table, results in Belgrade will shape whether the Serbians remain in the conversation for the later rounds of the tournament.

The wider national set-up has plenty riding on its younger groups too, with the U20 side sharpening its World Cup preparation alongside the senior programme. For now, the senior women regroup, pack up from the Philippines, and turn their attention to a home week that could redefine their Nations League season.