Americans sweep VNL Manila stop

A second-set stumble only served as a minor delay in the United States’ clean sweep of the 2026 Women’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Manila leg.

Unstoppable throughout Week 2, the Americans encountered some resistance from Serbia but still got the job done in a 25-22, 18-25, 25-16, 25-19, for a six-game winning streak in the prestigious 18-nation tournament on Sunday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

USA swept the VNL’s Philippine stop, winning all four of its matches for a 7-1 win-loss record for the provisional lead.

Avery Skinner and Logan Eggleston anchored USA’s relentless attacks, combining for 32 of the team 62 kills in the one hour and 46 minutes of world-class volleyball action.

“Oh, this (sweep) is really gonna help us. You know, obviously, I think (just getting) our momentum going in this tournament. It’s really nice to come out a week 4-0 and I’m excited to see what next week brings and how we can continue to the finals,” Eggleston said after the victory where she scored 16 of her 17 points on kills.

Skinner had 18 markers on 16 attacks, an ace and a kill block while Jordan Thompson and Asjia O’Neal added 14 and 10 markers, respectively, for the Americans.

The Serbians corned the US in the second set, shattering a 9-9 deadlock before holding off the Americans to tie the match one set apiece.

US regained its stride with a strong fightback in the next two frames behind Skinner and Eggleston.

USA will get a much-deserved rest before flying to Osaka, Japan for Week 3 starting 8 July. The Americans will face Thailand, Poland, Turkey and unbeaten Brazil in Pool 9.

“Feels great. We get to go home and kind of enjoy our next week and a half of training before we go to Japan and yeah it feels good to go out on a win and just really, really proud of everybody,” Eggleston added.

Nina Cajic scored 10 of her 18 points in the second set, while Anja Zubic had 12 points as Serbia wound up 1-3 in Manila for a 2-6 record.

Serbia hosts Pool 7 in Belgrade for Week 3 with Bulgaria, Germany, France, Netherlands, Bulgaria and Czech Republic.