Alan Nine
Men's VNL
OTTAWA - Italy closed the opening week of the Volleyball Nations League 2026 with a 3-2 win over the United States in the last match of the Canadian pool. The azzurri came through with set scores of 25-18, 15-25, 25-19, 18-25 and 15-10, finishing the first block with three victories and one defeat after the earlier wins over Germany and Turkey and the five-set loss to France.
Luca Porro led Italy with 23 points, while Mattia Bottolo added 14, Pardo Mati 11 and Kamil Rychlicki 10. The United States had 25 points from Jake Hanes, but Italy produced 57 winning attacks and controlled the tie-break from the start. Coach Ferdinando De Giorgi left Ottawa with a temporary fourth place in the overall standings and an updated all-time record of 52 wins in 93 matches against the United States.
SuperLega
MODENA - The Italian top flight is preparing to bring back the play-outs from next season. The measure was approved by most clubs and was presented as a way to keep the regular season meaningful through its final stages, reversing the recent direction on relegation management in SuperLega Credem Banca.
Italian Transfer News
The Italian market again supplied the largest group of headlines. Savino Del Bene Scandicci chose Canada international Kiera Van Ryk as its new opposite for 2026/27 after her most recent season in China, a campaign closed with the national title and strong numbers in attack and on serve. Allianz Milano also invested in youth by signing 2008-born left-handed opposite Federico Argano, an Under 17 world champion who joins the roster for the next SuperLega season.
Vero Volley Monza brought back libero Flavio Morazzini after two years at Pineto, adding a player who returns with experience, youth titles and a recent A2 double. Sabaudia reinforced the middle of the net with Sicilian veteran Carmelo Gitto, presented as a signing capable of adding leadership and more than twenty years of top-level experience. In A2, Belluno Volley opened its confirmations with outside hitter Francesco Corrado, who stays after a season worth 392 points in 31 matches, while Atlantide Brescia added 2000-born middle blocker Gabriele Sanfilippo for the 2026/27 Serie A2 Credem Banca campaign.
Beach Volley
FALCONARA - The beach volley day crowned Valentina Gottardi and Reka Orsi Toth on the women’s side and Sacripanti-Titta on the men’s side. Falconara therefore delivered another domestic headline on a day already crowded with indoor news, keeping the Italian pairings in the spotlight at the start of the summer schedule.
