Alan Nine
International
CAVALESE — Italy’s men opened the 2026 test-match season with a straight-set win over Turkey in Val di Fiemme, taking the match 25-20, 25-17, 25-13. Ferdinando De Giorgi started with Paolo Porro, Kamil Rychlicki, Luca Porro, Mattia Bottolo, Pardo Mati, Giovanni Sanguinetti and libero Gabriele Laurenzano. The match also marked the first senior-national-team appearance on court for Pardo Mati and Mattia Orioli. After the official result, the teams agreed to play two extra training sets, both won again by Italy, 25-19 and 15-11.
Another international item came from Japan, where middle blocker Shunichiro Sato was removed from the men’s national-team group preparing for the Volleyball Nations League 2026. Volleyball.it reported that the player was arrested on Wednesday, May 27 on suspicion of marijuana possession in Tokyo, and that the Japanese federation confirmed the cancellation of his registration for the 2026 men’s national team while the case remains under investigation.
The European calendar also moved a step closer with the unveiling of the official EuroVolley 2026 balls. CEV and Mikasa presented the special V200W-EV model, designed to reflect the host countries’ colors for the men’s and women’s final phases. According to Volleyball.it, the women’s tournament will run from August 21 to September 6, 2026 in Turkey, Czechia, Azerbaijan and Sweden, while the men’s tournament will start on September 9 and finish on September 26 in Milan, with matches also hosted in Bulgaria, Finland and Romania.
Italian Transfer News
MONZA — Vero Volley Monza added experience to the back court by signing libero Nicola Pesaresi, who arrives after two seasons with Itas Trentino. Volleyball.it highlighted his long SuperLega career across clubs including Verona, Civitanova, Milano and Trento, as well as his gold medal with Italy at the 2013 Mediterranean Games.
FIRENZE — In the women’s market, Il Bisonte Firenze completed its middle-blocker department with Slovenian player Nika Milosic, born in 2005. The article noted her development from opposite to middle, her recent spell with Levallois Paris Saint-Cloud after winning the Slovenian title with Branik, and her experience with the Slovenian national team in the European League, European Championship and World Championship.
MACERATA — CBF Balducci HR Macerata closed its libero unit with the arrival of Melissa Tesi, a 2002-born back-court specialist coming off a Serie A2 season at Altino Volley. Volleyball.it reported that she finished that campaign with 45.1% perfect receptions, after earlier seasons with Pallavolo Castelfranco Pisa, where she won promotion to A2 and the B1 Italian Cup in 2023/24.
More market movement came from the men’s divisions. Campi Reali Cantù brought in libero Nicolò Hoffer, who played last season with Belluno in Serie A3 up to the promotion final. Volleyball.it also kept Cuneo in focus with the renewal of opposite Lorenzo Sala, who stays in biancoblù after his first SuperLega season.
Federation And Youth
ROMA — Off the court, FIPAV and the Centro Sportivo Italiano signed a national agreement aimed at strengthening volleyball activity in local communities, parishes and educational settings. Volleyball.it framed the convention as a way to combine federal technical expertise with CSI’s social and training network, with Giuseppe Manfredi and Vittorio Bosio underlining its grassroots and educational value.
Youth and development stories also had a visible place in the day’s coverage. The Junior League 2026 published its rosters and media kit for the 33rd Trofeo Massimo Serenelli, scheduled from May 31 to June 2 between Ozzano dell’Emilia and San Lazzaro di Savena, with eight Under-20 club teams in the field. In the girls’ national-team program, Italy’s Under 17 side was confirmed for a training camp in Castelnovo ne’ Monti from June 7 to 18 ahead of the world championship in Santiago, Chile, set for August 6 to 16.
Volleyball.it also carried a youth-finals feature from the boys’ Under-15 national finals, where former Italy star Alessandro Fei met the young players in Capo di Leuca, sharing advice on patience, resilience and long-term development.
Beach Volley
OSTRAVA — In beach volleyball, the second day of the Elite16 in Ostrava brought another win for Valentina Gottardi and Reka Orsi Toth, who beat Americans Sara Hughes and Ally Batenhorst in straight sets, 21-14, 21-16. Claudia Scampoli and Giada Bianchi pushed Brazil’s Carol Salgado and Rebecca Cavalcanti to a deciding set before losing 21-14, 19-21, 15-13. The event remains the first European Elite16 stop of the 2026 Beach Pro Tour season.
