Cuba Aims for Second Victory Today in Volleyball Nations League

The Cuban men's volleyball team will chase their second win in the first week of Group 2 in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) when they face Ukraine today at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanãzinho.

After a 1-3 loss (22-25, 25-21, 18-25, 15-25) to world No. 3 Slovenia and a thrilling 3-2 victory (27-25, 26-24, 21-25, 20-25, 15-13) over host Brazil (ranked 7th), the 12th-ranked Cubans will take on 13th-ranked Ukraine in another highly anticipated match.

Against Brazil, the squad led by head coach Jesús Cruz outperformed their opponents in attacks (68-61) and matched them in blocks (10-10) but trailed in serves (7-3) and unforced errors (28-34).

According to the International Volleyball Federation’s website (www.fivb.com), Cuba’s Marlon Yant stood out as the top scorer of the match with 23 points—all from attacks—followed by Brazil’s Darlan Ferreira with 21 (12 attacks, 1 serve).

Other notable performances came from Cuba’s José Massó (18 points: 16 attacks, 2 blocks) and captain Miguel Ángel López (18 points: 14 attacks, 2 blocks, 2 serves), as well as Brazil’s Henrique Honorato (14 points: 12 attacks, 2 blocks).

Javier Concepción also contributed for Cuba with a double-digit performance (10 points: 9 attacks, 1 block).

Ukraine, meanwhile, enters the match fresh off a 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-20, 25-23) against the United States on Thursday.

Per the Group 2 schedule, Cuba will rest on Saturday before returning Sunday to face the U.S.

The remaining two weeks of the preliminary round will see Cuba compete in Belgrade (against Germany, Serbia, the Netherlands, and Argentina) and Gdańsk (facing Bulgaria, Poland, France, and China).