Alan Nine
Men's VNL
OTTAWA - Italy closed the rest day in Canada with weights in the morning and a ball session in Gatineau in the afternoon, keeping the focus on the next two matches of the opening Volleyball Nations League 2026 week. After the 3-1 win over Germany and the opening tie-break loss to France, the azzurri will return to the court against Turkey in the Italian night between Saturday June 13 and Sunday June 14 at 1.30, before ending the Ottawa pool against the United States on Sunday June 14 at 24.00.
Coach Ferdinando De Giorgi described the group as involved and compact after the first two outings, stressing both the intensity shown and the contribution of the bench against Germany. He also underlined that this VNL begins without a large volume of training behind it, so Italy must chase results while continuing a gradual growth process. The historical data released with the Ottawa preview lists 22 Italian wins in 25 meetings with Turkey and 51 wins in 92 matches against the United States.
The day also brought a ranking change. Ahead of the final two Canadian matches, Italy moved back to No. 1 in the FIVB world ranking, while Poland lost the top spot after four years following two defeats in VNL play.
Italian Transfer News
The domestic market remained the busiest part of the front page. Cuneo announced the return of setter Manuel Coscione, back in biancoblù after twelve years. The veteran comes home after eight straight seasons in Serie A2 and one in France with Arago de Sete, and returns to SuperLega nine seasons after his last appearance in the top Italian division. In the club presentation, Coscione said he is back to bring experience, clarity and competitiveness to a young team whose stated target is survival.
Bartoccini MC Restauri Perugia added another major piece in Giulia Mancini. The Roman middle blocker, born in 1998, arrives after two seasons with Savino Del Bene Scandicci and said she chose Perugia because of the club's seriousness and because she wants to fight to win A2 and bring the team back to A1. After six straight top-flight seasons, she accepted the step down in division in search of continuity and a leading role. In the most recent season she made 19 appearances and scored 12 points.
Rinascita Lagonegro opened its Serie A2 Credem Banca 2026/27 build with middle blocker Cosimo Balestra, a 23-year-old from Taranto who stands 200 cm tall. After youth development between Alessano and Castellana Grotte, Balestra collected a 2022/23 triplete at Vibo Valentia with promotion to SuperLega, the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa. Last season at Sviluppo Sud Catania in A2 he posted a personal best of 124 points, and his career record now stands at 107 Serie A appearances and 244 total points. He also owns youth national-team golds at the Under 18 European Championship in 2020 and the Under 20 European Championship in 2022.
Perugia also completed its middle department with Giovanni Sanguinetti. Born in 2000, the Bologna player leaves Modena after ten years, seven of them in SuperLega, and after winning the 2023/24 CEV Cup as a starter. Since his debut in the Italian top league he has played 166 matches and produced 87 aces. Cucine Lube Civitanova, meanwhile, added experience in the same role through Alberto Polo, a 202 cm middle blocker arriving from Sonepar Padova. His last season ended with 31 winning blocks, ninth overall among league specialists, while his international resume includes bronze with Italy's Under 23 team in 2015, a senior debut at the 2018 Mediterranean Games and victory at the 2019 Universiade.
On the women's side, Roma Volley also confirmed the arrival of Hungary's Kata Török for 2026/27. The 28-year-old attacker can play both as outside hitter and opposite, scored an average of eight points per match with Marsala in her first Italian A2 season, and will wear jersey number 27. Before Italy she built most of her career with Vasas Obuda, winning five league titles and five Hungarian Cups, and she has already appeared in four European Championships with the Hungarian national team.
International
The other major international development came from Turkey, where Ebrar Karakurt was ruled out for the next stage of the VNL. The federation communicated a recovery window of four to six weeks because of a problem involving the lower back area and the right sacroiliac joint, with edema also reported. Even without her, coach Daniele Santarelli named the squad for the Ankara week, bringing back key players such as Melissa Vargas, Zehra Güneş, Hande Baladın and Cansu Özbay.
