Alan Nine
VNL
OTTAWA - Italy collected its first win in the Volleyball Nations League 2026 by beating Germany 3-1 in Pool 1 in Canada. After the opening tie-break loss to France, the team coached by Ferdinando De Giorgi answered with a 25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 33-31 victory that brought the first three points of the campaign.
The match again reflected the direction of a very young Italian group. Paolo Porro, Kamil Rychlicki, Mattia Bottolo, Luca Porro, Giovanni Sanguinetti, Pardo Mati and libero Gabriele Laurenzano started, while the bench also had a clear impact. Alessandro Bovolenta, Giovanni Gargiulo, Mattia Orioli and Tommaso Sani all contributed during the four-set battle, especially when the contest became tighter in the third and fourth sets.
The key phases came after Germany had recovered the second set. Italy came back from behind in the third, reached 16-16 with a block from Gargiulo and then moved in front for good, before surviving a very long fourth set decided 33-31. The success arrived against a Germany coached by Massimo Botti and close to full strength, an element that gave extra weight to the result.
With the second match complete, the Ottawa week quickly shifted from reaction to preparation. On the rest day the squad worked in the weight room in the morning and trained with the ball in Gatineau in the afternoon. De Giorgi said he was satisfied to see the group involved and compact after the first two outings, adding that the team must keep improving step by step because the VNL starts without a large volume of training behind it.
Italy’s next two matches are already fixed: the azzurri will face Turkey in the Italian night between Saturday June 13 and Sunday June 14 at 1.30, then close the Ottawa pool against the United States on Sunday June 14 at 24.00. The updated head-to-head data released with the preview lists 22 Italian wins in 25 meetings with Turkey and 51 wins in 92 meetings with the United States.
Italian Transfer News
The domestic market remained busy. Cucine Lube Civitanova extended the contract of Alex Nikolov until 2029, lengthening an agreement that had previously run to 2028. The Bulgarian outside hitter, with Lube since the 2022/23 season, closed the 2025/26 regular season as the club’s top scorer and is currently engaged with Bulgaria in the VNL. In the club release, Nikolov described Lube as a place that matches his ambitions and said he wants to grow further as a reference point inside the team.
Modena Volley also completed a return move by bringing back Sil Meijs, this time as an opposite. The Dutch player had previously been used as a setter in his first Modena spell, but his season with VC Greenyard Maaseik in Belgium confirmed the role change. Meijs won the Belgian league there and was recognized as best opposite and top scorer of the competition before returning to Modena for 2026/27.
Other Italian market stories stayed visible on the front page as well. Akademia Sant'Anna presented libero Elena Rolando as a new arrival for the coming season, while Roma Volley announced middle blocker Melissa Martinelli, describing the Roman player as an experienced profile between A1 and A2 who will wear jersey number 10.
Foreign Transfer News
Internationally, the Turkish market kept drawing attention. Zeren Spor confirmed the arrivals of opposites Adhuoljok Malual and Anna Nicoletti, giving the Ankara club a double Italian addition for next season. Malual moves on after her experience with VakifBank, while Nicoletti also heads to the Sultanlar Ligi. The club communication did not provide contract lengths or player statements, but it made the two signings official through separate announcements.
Another Turkish link involved Efe Mandiraci. The outside hitter is expected to leave Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza and join Galatasaray after two seasons in SuperLega. The reported offer is a two-year deal worth 1.25 million euro per season for the player, separate from any compensation owed to Piacenza, where Mandiraci remains under contract until 2028. If the exit is completed, Piacenza will have to move back into the market to replace one of the players it had considered central to the project.
