Alan Nine
Volleyball.it closed the June 30 cycle with a mix of national-team news, beach-volley scheduling and transfer-market movement. The strongest editorial threads came from Italy's Under 22 campaign in Portugal, the restart of the senior men's programme ahead of July work in Val di Fiemme, the next international stop in Gstaad, and a group of fresh roster decisions across the Italian leagues.
International Under
Italy suffered its first defeat at the Men's Under 22 European Championship, losing 3-1 to the Czech Republic in Albufeira. After opening the tournament with a win over Bulgaria, the Azzurrini dropped the first two sets 25-18 and 25-21, reacted by taking the third 25-20, but could not extend the comeback and lost the fourth 25-16.
Volleyball.it reported that coach Vincenzo Fanizza's side had two joint top scorers, with Mati and Frascio both on 15 points. On the other side, Vaclav Seidl finished as match top scorer with 21 points. Italy now faces France at 21:30 Italian time on July 1 in what the source described as a potentially decisive match for the group's outcome, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the semifinals on July 3.
Men's National Team
The senior Italy men's national team will return to work in Val di Fiemme after a short break. A first group of 14 players is due to begin training on July 2, while the athletes coming off the second VNL week in Ljubljana will join from July 4. Volleyball.it noted that Fabio Balaso, Simone Giannelli and Yuri Romanò are part of the first wave heading to Cavalese.
The programme also includes an international friendly between Italy and Argentina, scheduled for July 5 at 18:00 at the BTS Arena in Trento. The first group includes players such as Alessandro Michieletto (photo), Tim Held, Giulio Magalini and Roberto Russo, while the second group will add names including Paolo Porro, Riccardo Sbertoli, Daniele Lavia, Mattia Bottolo and Gianluca Galassi. Ferdinando De Giorgi will lead the second group, with Gianluca Galassi and Daniele Lavia due to join from July 3.
Beach Volley
Volleyball.it also looked ahead to the fifth Elite16 of the 2026 Beach Pro Tour, which opens on July 1 in Gstaad. Four Italian pairs are entered. In the women's event, Giada Bianchi and Claudia Scampoli will begin in qualification against the Americans Flint-DeBerg, while Valentina Gottardi and Reka Orsi Toth, seeded fourth and ranked eighth in the world, are already in the main draw after a season that included a ninth-place finish in Ostrava and silver in Brasilia.
In the men's draw, Manuel Alfieri and Alex Ranghieri will try to qualify against Austria's Waller-Pristauz. Samuele Cottafava and Gianluca Dal Corso are already in the main draw and will open pool B against Brazil's Andre-Renato. Volleyball.it added that Gstaad will host the 2027 European Beach Volleyball Championships, which is why the Elite16 will return there only from 2028 after this year's edition.
Italian Transfer News
The domestic market produced several notable stories. Allianz Milano completed its roster by signing Bulgarian outside hitter Georgi Tatarov (photo). The 2003-born attacker, listed at two metres, arrives after time in SuperLega with Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina and a finish to the 2025-26 season in Turkey with Galatasaray HDI Sigorta, coached by Andrea Gardini. Volleyball.it recalled that he totalled 48 appearances and 478 points in a season and a half with Grottazzolina, and that Bulgaria's senior national team won world silver in 2025.
Verona officially added libero Leonardo Scanferla, a 1998-born player from Padua who came through his hometown club, spent time in Brescia, played for Piacenza from 2019 to 2025 and won the Coppa Italia in 2023 before his most recent season at Monza. Volleyball.it also noted his place in Italy's 2022 world-title squad.
In the women's game, Eurotek Laica UYBA Busto Arsizio completed its roster with the return of opposite Ajack Malual (photo), the left-handed Rome-born player who came through the club's youth system before experiences with Trentino, Chaminade University, Tennessee, Maryland and Spain's CV JAV Olímpico. Valsabbina Millenium Brescia also confirmed Croatian opposite Andrea Mihaljević, born in 2003, after her season with Ptt Spor in Turkey and earlier spells in Croatia and Greece that included Champions League matches and two national titles with Haok Mladost Zagreb.
