Redazione Volleyball.it
Day in brief
Civitanova: Poriya Hossein Khanzadeh’s post-Lube chapter continues in Qatar, at Al-Arabi Sports Club.
Serie A1 Tigotà: Tuesday, January 20 brings a full in-week round (seven matches in one night) with survival points and playoff seeding at stake.
Volley mercato: a string of moves—Lorenne Teixeira to Greece, Gréta Kiss to Messina, Alice Turco to Offanengo; Perugia lock in David Collator for 2026/27; Ishikawa is linked to Ziraat Ankara; Imoco’s Pietro Maschio announces Haak’s renewal.
Japan: SV.League hits record regular-season crowds at IG Arena Nagoya (28,110 over two days).
Perugia (A1 Tigotà): President Antonio Bartoccini blasts the team after a 0-3 home loss to Firenze and calls for a response at Novara.
Civitanova: New destination for Poriya
CIVITANOVA – After weeks of controversy and tension surrounding his early departure from Cucine Lube Civitanova, a new chapter opens for Poriya Hossein Khanzadeh away from SuperLega. The Iranian outside hitter will continue his season in Qatar: his next stop is Al-Arabi Sports Club.
The story grew well beyond the court. From Beppe Cormio’s press conference to Aleksandar Nikolov’s words—moving through apologies and subsequent statements from the Bulgarian player—up to the remarks of Roberto Piazza, Allianz Milano head coach and also Iran’s national-team coach, the “Poriya case” became one of the season’s most debated topics, with conflict and media fallout.
Now comes a restart in Doha. Al-Arabi—one of the most recognizable clubs in the Qatari landscape—has long attracted international volleyball stars, with names such as Juantorena, Miljkovic, Leal, Wlazły, Zaytsev, Griozer, Vissotto and Zygadlo having worn the maroon shirt in past years. It’s a high-profile context that puts the Iranian player back in an environment used to betting on big-name, immediate-impact signings.
For Poriya, the Italian chapter ends with a new opportunity in the Middle East—evidently with Lube’s clearance, without which, at least in theory, a transfer request would not have been possible.
Serie A1 Tigotà: The 8th return round lights up the midweek slate — San Giovanni hunting more survival points
The A1 Tigotà midweek round is packed into a single evening on Tuesday, January 20, with seven matches scheduled and major stakes across the table. The program opens at 19:30 with Omag-Mt San Giovanni in Marignano vs Il Bisonte Firenze, a matchup that blends urgency and momentum: both teams come off 3-0 wins and are chasing continuity, with San Giovanni trying to keep climbing away from the bottom and Firenze aiming to extend a positive run. At 20:00 it’s Macerata vs Chieri, where Macerata need points to stabilize a delicate position while Chieri look to confirm their place near the top, balancing league priorities with an approaching Coppa Italia window.
From 20:30, five matches run in parallel: Busto Arsizio–Monviso, Novara–Perugia, Milano–Cuneo, Vallefoglia–Conegliano, and Bergamo–Scandicci (live on Rai Sport). Several storylines define the slate: Busto want to snap a long home drought, Monviso are searching for answers with a reshaped roster and new technical direction; Novara return home after a long travel stretch, while Perugia face a demanding test for confidence and character; Milano try to cement a high ranking against a Cuneo side built around a high-volume, high-impact serve; Vallefoglia welcome leaders Conegliano in what’s expected to be close to a sell-out; and Bergamo host Scandicci in a big-match closer that can weigh heavily on standings and momentum heading toward the season’s final weeks.
VOLLEY MERCATO
Greece: opposite Lorenne Teixeira arrives
GREECE – Lorenne Teixeira’s spell at VakifBank ended with a farewell message from the Turkish club, thanking the Brazilian opposite for her contribution in the first part of the season. In the following hours, her new destination emerged: the Brazilian “position 2” moves to Greece, joining ZAON Kifisias to continue the season in the Hellenic league.
Messina: Gréta Kiss strengthens the outside-hitter unit for the Promotion Pool
Gruppo Formula 3 Messina have officially added Hungarian outside hitter Gréta Kiss (1998, 182 cm - pic) as they move into the Promotion Pool phase. The signing is framed as both a short-term reinforcement for the decisive second part of the season and a step consistent with longer-term planning at A2 level. Kiss arrives from Vasas Óbuda and brings a profile already tested internationally: she has played across Hungary, Germany and France, and has also featured with the Hungarian national team in official competitions.
Her individual résumé is highlighted by two specific recognitions: best outside hitter in the 2021/22 Hungarian Extraliga and best receiver in European Championship qualifying. Messina coach Matteo Freschi underlined the fit with the team’s playing model, stressing that the player will have time to settle into the group, while Kiss described the move as a personal milestone—“Playing in Italy has always been a dream of mine”—and linked it to motivation and ambition for the team’s objectives in the crucial phase ahead.
Offanengo: setter Alice Turco joins for the Survival Pool
Trasporti Bressan Offanengo move on the market ahead of the A2 Women’s Survival Pool, adding setter Alice Turco (born 2000, 1.78 m). The playmaker arrives from Dinamo București and is already in town, set to begin training immediately with the group led by Fabio Collina. The club’s management described it as a last-minute opportunity taken to strengthen depth and leadership in the most delicate part of the season, also with an eye on supporting the younger setters in the squad.
Turco’s path includes a Serie A debut with Club Italia in A2 (2017/18), another A2 season with Martignacco, a first A1 experience with Il Bisonte Firenze (2019/20), then stints that include Cuneo and a three-year stretch in A2 at San Giovanni in Marignano. This season in Romania, she also appeared in European competition, adding a layer of international experience. In her first words as an Offanengo player, Turco immediately set the tone—“One thing is clear: Offanengo must stay in A2”—and described her motivation to return to Italy and impact in what she called the “clutch” phase of the campaign, also outlining her preference for a faster style and involving all attackers.
Conegliano: Pietro Maschio — Haak renewed, and “this is only the beginning”
With the Coppa Italia Final Four approaching, Conegliano co-president and market figure Pietro Maschio steps in to address the constant swirl of rumors surrounding the club’s stars, arguing that external chatter can become a distraction precisely when focus is needed most. In a statement that departs from the club’s usual approach, he confirms the key headline: Isabelle Haak will remain with Imoco for the 2026/27 season, calling the Swedish opposite a “star” and framing the renewal as a cornerstone of continuity.
Maschio positions Conegliano’s attractiveness on the market as both a point of pride and a potential risk: being courted by top clubs worldwide is evidence of the project’s strength, but it can unsettle the environment if not managed. He also anticipates further confirmations to be communicated before the team leaves for Turin, insisting the club does not want to chase or deny every rumor. The message is tied to wider ambition: with domestic playoffs and Champions League still ahead, Maschio emphasizes a long-term belief in the group’s structure—staff, culture, and mentality—while also acknowledging a basic sporting reality: you cannot win forever, opponents evolve, each season changes, but Conegliano intend to “try, always.”
David Collator to Perugia as opposite for 2026/27
PERUGIA – David Collator is a new Sir Susa Vim Perugia player: the visually impaired opposite, who featured in the CEV Champions League with VKLV Prague, will wear the Umbrian shirt in the 2026/2027 season.
Collator will be the backup opposite behind Ferre Reggers—Perugia’s new signing arriving from Milano—as the club shapes its attacking unit for the future.
In the meantime, the attacker has already shown his quality on the European stage: in the first matchday of Pool C (played in Perugia), he posted 20 points, including 19 in attack, with 61% attacking efficiency and 1 ace.
Perugia: Ishikawa possibly set to leave Italy — rumors link him to Ziraat Bankasi Ankara
The Japanese outside hitter Yuki Ishikawa, currently with Sir Sìrcoma Monini Perugia, could leave SuperLega at the end of the season. According to transfer rumors, he is being linked as Ziraat Bankasi Ankara’s next starting outside hitter.
For Ishikawa, it would close a long cycle in Italy: beginning at PowerVolley Padova, then Siena, Latina and Modena, before moving to Perugia. In recent weeks, multiple rumors have circulated—ranging from a return to Japan to moves across other European leagues, from Turkey to Poland—but the Ankara track now appears to be gaining momentum.
Japan: SV.League record weekend — 28,110 fans at IG Arena Nagoya
TOKYO – The men’s DAIDO LIFE SV.LEAGUE set new attendance benchmarks over the weekend of January 17–18, 2026, for the two-match series between Wolfdogs Nagoya and Suntory Sunbirds Osaka at IG Arena Nagoya (pic).
Game 1 on Saturday drew 14,037 fans, a new season-high for a single match. The number was then topped on Sunday in Game 2, with 14,073—an all-time record for a regular-season match in the league. Across the two days, IG Arena welcomed 28,110 spectators.
It’s a symbolic marker for Week 11 of the 2025/26 season and a sign of the competition’s growing traction, as SV.League continues its development path with the stated ambition of consolidating itself among the world’s reference leagues by 2030.
Perugia: Bartoccini’s anger — “An indecent performance”
PERUGIA – In Perugia, the tone is very different: after a 0–3 home loss in the direct clash with Firenze, club president Antonio Bartoccini publicly criticizes the team in unusually harsh terms, calling the performance “indecent and unjustifiable”. His message is aimed less at tactics and more at responsibility and identity: whatever the season’s difficulties, the team must close it with dignity and pride, in respect to the club, the city, sponsors and the people who were in the arena. Bartoccini also acknowledges that the club itself has made mistakes, saying management has tried to address them, but he stresses that none of that can excuse such a low-level display.
The calendar offers little time to reset: Perugia are immediately back on court the next day in a difficult trip to Novara, against an Igor side positioned high in the standings. The pressure, therefore, is not only to respond on the scoreboard but to show a different mental approach. The situation also prompts reflections on possible lineup solutions, but the core point remains the same: the club is demanding an immediate change in attitude, and the next match becomes a direct test of whether the group can transform public frustration into a reaction on the court.
