Alan Nine
Women’s VNL
BRASILIA - The headline result of the day was the end of Italy’s long winning run in the Women’s Volleyball Nations League 2026. In Brasilia, the Azzurre pushed Brazil all the way before losing 3-2 in Pool 2, a defeat that halted Italy’s streak at 39 consecutive victories. It was presented as a high-level test against the home side rather than an ordinary pool-stage result.
The build-up around that match remained part of the same storyline. Coach José Roberto Guimarães selected Brazil’s 14-player roster for the meeting with the Olympic champions, while the wider women’s VNL roundup also collected the main numbers from the fourth day of play in Nanjing, Quebec City and Brasilia.
National Teams
OTTAWA - On the men’s side, Italy continued its approach to the opening week of the Men’s Volleyball Nations League in Canada. The Azzurri are working toward their June 10 debut against France, with the opening match immediately placing them in front of the Olympic champions.
The national-team picture therefore stretched across both senior programs: the women closed a demanding test against Brazil, while the men officially began their week in Ottawa. Across the day’s coverage, the VNL remained the central competitive thread of the international calendar.
Under And Sitting Volley
CECINA / VIGGIANO - Youth and federal competition news also carried weight. In the Under 13 men’s BigMat national finals, Volley Treviso won the Italian title by beating Studio Fracassi Futura 3-0 in the final at Cecina, completing the path that had brought the two teams through the semifinals and into the last act.
Another important item came from sitting volleyball. The 2026 Coppa Italia confirmed the existing hierarchy of the national movement in Viggiano, where Dream Volley Pisa captured the women’s title again and I Santi Ortopedie Nola remained the dominant force in the men’s competition. Together, those results broadened the package beyond elite international play.
Italian Transfer News
PADOVA / CISTERNA / CONEGLIANO - The Italian market stream was compact but active. Padova confirmed that outside hitter Mattia Orioli will remain for a third season, a continuity move that follows his recent call-up for the 2026 VNL. Cisterna instead added a new face with opposite Miguel Ángel Martínez Palacios (photo), known as Amaranto, arriving from Colombia as the third new player in the roster. His profile was introduced with one clear detail: 202 centimetres of height.
On the women’s side, Conegliano completed its middle-blocker department with the arrival of German player Anastasia Cekulaev, born in 2003 and coming in after Italian experiences with Perugia and Chieri. Taken together, these moves outlined a concise domestic transfer section built on continuity in Padova and targeted reinforcement in Cisterna and Conegliano.
