Serbia vs Cuba

Serbia started purposefully, taking Set 1 25-19 behind efficient attacking and disciplined net defence. The early margin suggested a comfortable evening ahead.

Cuba responded emphatically in Set 2. They raced to a 25-13 win — the most lopsided set of the match — levelling the contest at 1-1 and exposing Serbia's vulnerability after a drop in serving pressure. The Caribbean side's transition game clicked at full power.

The third set proved decisive. Serbia steadied themselves after the second-set collapse, edging a tight frame 25-23. Neither team led by more than two points through the middle phase, but Serbia found the crucial points in the closing stages to regain control.

Set 4 followed a similar pattern. Serbia opened a narrow lead that Cuba could not erase, closing it out 25-22 to seal the 3-1 victory.

Serbia's recovery after the second-set mauling defined the match. Down 1-1 in sets and having lost five consecutive matches dating back to the opening week, the Serbs could have folded. Instead, they tightened their passing lines and reduced unforced errors in Set 3, grinding out a 25-23 win that swung the psychological advantage back their way. Cuba never rediscovered the rhythm that produced the 25-13 blowout.

Veljko Masulović continued as Serbia's primary scoring threat. The opposite hit 16 points in the 1-3 loss to Japan on 24 June and was again Serbia's go-to option in the decisive moments against Cuba.

Lazar Marinović added 14 points against Japan on 24 June and contributed heavily here, particularly in the tight third set where his first-tempo attacks kept the Cuban block guessing.

José Masso led Cuba's attack with 10 points against the USA on 24 June and was again prominent, though the Cuban offence became error-prone in the third and fourth sets.

Official player-of-the-match honours were not published at the time of writing.

Serbia's 3-1 scoreline masks a set with a double-digit margin either way. The 25-13 second set Cuba won suggests Serbia's serve-and-defence system remains inconsistent within matches — a pattern that has defined their 2026 campaign. However, the narrow wins in Sets 3 (25-23) and 4 (25-22) show Serbia can execute under pressure when they control the serve-pass line.

Cuba generated enough offence to win a set comfortably but could not sustain that level. Their error count in the third and fourth sets — both decided by two-to-three points — made the difference.

The match was played under an exceptional heat protocol at the CO'Met Arena due to extreme temperatures and the lack of permanent air conditioning, which introduced two 60-second cooling breaks per set and extended intervals between sets to five minutes, as reported by VolleyTimes.

Serbia entered the match on 9 points from eight matches, sitting eighth in the 18-team VNL standings. The win adds three points, lifting them to 12 and keeping them within touch of the top eight — the cut-off for the Final Phase in late July.

Cuba, with their third loss in Week 2, remained on 2 points, anchored at the bottom of the standings and needing an unlikely run in their remaining group matches to climb the table. They face Iran on 27 June and Japan on 28 June in Orléans.

Serbia next face Iran on 27 June in Orléans, while Cuba play Japan on the same day.

Serbia's most complete performance since Week 1 stopped a damaging slide. The resilience shown after the second-set collapse is a positive sign, but the inconsistency that produced a 13-25 set must be addressed before tougher opposition. Cuba competed in stretches but lack the depth and discipline to close out tight frames — a gap this result made clear.