The strong hands of Alessia Orro guided Italy to win their second FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship title on Sunday in Thailand, and the 27-year-old setter was recognized as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player during the awarding ceremony.
She is also part of the Dream Team of the 20th edition of the World Championship, which had representatives from all four national teams that made it to the semifinal, highlighting the high level of play in international women’s volleyball around the world.
Part of the Italian national team since 2015, Orro has been a key piece in the group that made history over the last 15 months, winning the World Championship, the Paris Olympics and two Volleyball Nations League titles during their historic 36-match winning streak.
At the World Championship, Orro had 143 successful setting actions, the sixth-highest mark in the entire tournament, despite playing three-setters in four of the team’s first five matches in the tournament. She was particularly important in the pool play matches against Cuba and Belgium, when she was the team’s only available setter as backup Carlotta Cambi recovered from injury.
Orro’s role in the Italian success has been consistently recognized, as she was also awarded the Best Setter at the Paris Games and the three Italian VNL victories (2022, 2024 and 2025), but this was the first time she was handed the MVP award.
The setter was one of three Italian players who were picked to form the tournament’s Dream Team, alongside star libero Monica De Gennaro and team captain and middle blocker Anna Danesi.
Second-placed Türkiye was represented by star opposite Melissa Vargas and team captain and middle blocker Eda Erdem. Third-placed Brazil and fourth-placed Japan also had their captains in the tournament’s ideal lineup, with Gabriela ‘Gabi’ Guimarães and Mayu Ishikawa forming the team’s outside hitter duo.
Players from all four semifinalists made it to the tournament’s Dream Team
2025 FIVB World Championship Dream Team
MVP: Alessia Orro (Italy)
Best Setter: Alessia Orro (Italy)
Best Opposite: Melissa Vargas (Türkiye)
Best Outside Hitters: Mayu Ishikawa (Japan) and Gabi Guimarães (Brazil)
Best Middle Blockers: Anna Danesi (Italy) and Eda Erdem (Türkiye)
Best Libero: Monica De Gennaro (Italy)