Slovenia Claims First-Ever VNL Medal With Bronze Over Japan
Slovenia claims their first-ever VNL medal, beating Japan 3-1 in a dramatic bronze medal match in Ningbo.
Slovenia won their first-ever men's Volleyball Nations League medal, beating Japan 3-1 (25-21, 26-28, 25-22, 25-22) in the bronze medal match in Ningbo, China, on Sunday. It was Slovenia's fourth appearance in a VNL third-place match, having finished fourth in 2021, 2024, and 2025.
Slovenia edged a tight first set behind strong serving, with aces from Klemen Sen and Nik Mujanovic setting up a 25-21 close finished by captain Tine Urnaut. Japan fought back in the second set, with Ran Takahashi outdueling Rok Mozic in an extended set that Japan won 28-26. Slovenia regained control in the third set, breaking away with a five-point run and closing it 25-22 on a kill by Urnaut. In the fourth set, Japan opened a four-point lead, but Slovenia rallied to level the score and took control for good, with Mujanovic delivering back-to-back kills before Japan's Kento Miyaura served long to end the match 25-22.
Slovenia outperformed Japan in attack (62-52), blocking (10-5), and aces (6-3), despite committing more unforced errors (33-23). Nik Mujanovic led Slovenia with 24 points, followed by Rok Mozic with 23 and Jan Kozamernik with 10. Ran Takahashi topped Japan's scoring with 20 points, while Yuji Nishida added 10.
Speaking to VBTV after the match, Mozic reflected on the historic win: "Yesterday, my roommate Jan Kozamernik and I saw that the head-to-head between Japan and Slovenia was 8-3 to them and 7-0 in the last matches, but I had a feeling, because we were really doing something crazy in this VNL. I am so happy! This team deserves it. I said to Tine and Pajenk that they were waiting for a medal for 20 years and it came. We've had a lot of fourth places and it was very unlucky. Now we are so happy – it's like gold for us! I always say, I just want to finish a tournament with a win, and it finally happened and I am really proud of this team. We did something special and it will be remembered forever!"
The VNL 2026 gold medal match between the United States and Poland follows at 19:30 local time.
