Alan Nine
Volleyball.it on July 12 brought together a dense mix of senior national-team volleyball, youth success, international finals and domestic market movement. The leading Italian result came in Hong Kong, where Italy closed the preliminary phase of the Volleyball Nations League with another comeback victory. Later in the day, Italy's Under-18 women finished their European run with a title, while the wider international picture also delivered the final acts of the men's and women's European League. On the Italian market front, a series of SuperLega moves added more definition to next season's roster map.
International
Italy's senior women ended the preliminary round of the VNL with a 3-2 win over China in Hong Kong, taking the match 25-19, 21-25, 22-25, 25-12, 15-12. Volleyball.it reported that the result gave the Azzurre their 10th win in 12 matches and left them level with the United States on victories, but second in the standings on 28 points to the Americans' 29. Ekaterina Antropova again led the scoring with 28 points, while Stella Nervini was described as decisive in the closing phase of the tie-break. Volleyball.it added that Italy completed the first stage with a 10-2 record and confirmed its status as one of the main contenders heading into the Finals in Macao.
The same international block also produced two title stories in the European League. In the women's competition, Sweden overturned a difficult start in Ljubljana and beat Slovenia 3-2 in the return final after losing the first two sets. Volleyball.it noted that the team coached by Lorenzo Micelli completed the event with 10 wins in 10 matches, with Isabelle Haak scoring 28 points. In the men's final, Finland also closed with a perfect record, defeating the Netherlands 3-1 in the second leg and securing a second straight title in the competition after ten wins from ten matches.
International Under
The biggest Italian celebration of the day came from the Under-18 Women's European Championship. In The Hague, the team coached by Stefano Gregoris beat Turkey 3-0 in the final, with set scores of 25-20, 25-16, 25-15, and returned to the top of Europe. Volleyball.it underlined the authority of the performance, especially at the net, where Italy finished with 11 winning blocks against Turkey's 2. Anita Tessariol scored 18 points, Lisa Monari Gamba added 11, and Bianca Legrenzi contributed 9, including 5 blocks.
The report also stressed the individual awards collected by the Azzurrine at the end of the tournament. Legrenzi was named best middle blocker, Alessia Manda best setter, Giulia Faleschini best outside hitter and Lisa Monari Gamba the tournament MVP. Volleyball.it framed the final as the completion of a growth path that ended with Italy reversing the earlier tie-break loss it had suffered against Turkey during the pool phase.
Italian Transfer News
The July 12 market cycle was one of the busiest of the recent SuperLega summer. Volleyball.it reported that Simone Anzani officially returned to Verona, while Valsa Group Modena moved to replace him with middle blocker Gabriele Di Martino from Allianz Milano. The article described the move as the closing stage of one of the last major middle-blocker chains in the league. For Anzani, born in 1992, it is a return to a club he represented from 2013 to 2017, now with a resume that includes multiple domestic titles and major successes with the Italian national team.
Volleyball.it also tracked two outside-hitter additions. Sonepar Padova officially signed Brazilian wing spiker Leonardo Lukas, born in 2002, from Guarulhos for what the report called his first experience away from Brazil. Tinet Prata di Pordenone, meanwhile, added Brazilian hitter Lukas Bergmann, born in 2004 and standing 204 centimeters, after his season with Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza, which ended with the CEV Cup title. Volleyball.it noted that Bergmann had already won in Brazil with Sesi Bauru and that he will now join coach Simone Di Tommaso's group for the coming SuperLega season.
