Czechia dominated Puerto Rico, 25-23, 25-20, 18-25, 25-18, to reign supreme in the 2024 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Challenger Cup on Sunday, July 7, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

Opposite hitter Gabriela Orvosova hammered 25 points on 23 hits and two blocks as Czechia in the process booked a coveted promotion ticket to the 2025 Volleyball Nations League (VNL). 

Team captain Michaela Mlejnkova added 18 points while Helena Havelkova and Magdalena Jehlarova chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Czech spikers, who needed only one hour and 48 minutes to win the knockout finale. 

Now world No. 15, Czechia banked on a 2-0 start, thanks to a thrilling escape act in the first set before recovering from a third-set mishap to fend off any resistance left from world No. 16 Puerto Rico.

“It’s unbelievable. We’re so happy and proud of our team. I’m speechless,” beamed Orvosova. 

“It’s time to celebrate our success. I believe in this tournament, we’re the better team and we deserve to win but the VNL is another level,” added Greek head coach Ioannis Athanasopoulos. 

Czechia’s third-set loss was its only defeat in a near-perfect Manila conquest after making short work of their rivals in first rounds of the prestigious tourney hosted by Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) led by president Ramon “Tats” Suzara. 

Czechia pummeled world No. 17 Argentina, 25-15, 25-22, 25-16, in the quarterfinals. 

It also trounced now world No. 32 Vietnam in the semis, 25-19, 25-14, 25-19, of the VNL qualifier also backed by global partners Mikasa, Gerflor and Senoh and local partners PLDT, Rebisco, Manila Diamond Hotel, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, Meralco, MWell, Cignal, Fitness First, Maynilad and Foton.

Grace Mar Lopez Villanueva, Paola Nicole Santiago Cabrera and Stephanie Rivera put up 23, 18 and 12 points, respectively, in the gallant silver-medal finish for the Puerto Ricans. 

But more than the gold and the VNL ticket, Czechia tipped its hat to the warm welcome of the passionate Filipino fans.

“Fans here are unbelievable right from first moment we arrived in the airport. Volleyball is huge over here and I didn’t know that. It’s a great experience for our team. From the entire Czech national team, we’re really thankful,” smiled coach Athanasopoulos. 

Earlier, Vietnam stunned world No. 12 Belgium, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17, to salvage the bronze medal behind the 35-point eruption on 34 hits by ace hitter Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen. 

It’s a strong follow-up to the Vietnamese’ championship last May in the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup, which was also hosted at nearby Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Vietnam, which eliminated host Alas Pilipinas in the quarterfinals with a 25-14, 25-21, 25-22 win, made it happen with the support from Nguyen Thi Trinh and skipper Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, who chipped in 10 and seven points, respectively.

“I’m very happy for this win and I’m very proud of my teammates. We have a good connection and we did well today,” said Thuy, dubbed as T4 in the volleyball community.

Manon Stragier, Pauline Martin, Britt Fransen had 14, 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Belgians in a commendable fourth-place finish.