Volleyball.it Daily Roundup - July 25, 2026

Volleyball.it closed July 25 with a news cycle built around the decisive day of the women’s VNL Finals, a fresh market move in SuperLega, a positive step on the international beach circuit and the official definition of Italy’s squad for the upcoming Under 17 Women’s World Championship. The main headline came from Macao, where Italy pushed Brazil to five sets in the semifinal before being redirected to the bronze-medal match against China.

International

Italy saw its run in the VNL Finals 2026 stop in the semifinals after a 3-2 defeat against Brazil at the East Asian Games Dome in Macao. The Brazilians won with set scores of 21-25, 25-21, 26-24, 22-25, 15-12 at the end of a match that stayed balanced until the final points of the tie-break. According to Volleyball.it, Ana Cristina led Brazil with 23 points, while Stella Nervini and Paola Egonu both finished on 16 for Italy. Brazil closed with 64 winning attacks, 12 blocks and 4 aces; Italy answered with 63 winning attacks, 12 blocks and 3 aces.

The match developed in swings. Italy took the opening set 25-21, Brazil answered with the same score in the second, then edged the third 26-24 after the Azzurre had recovered from 15-19 to 20-20. Italy forced a fifth set by winning the fourth 25-22, but Brazil moved ahead early in the decider and eventually closed it 15-12. Later in the day, Volleyball.it confirmed the final schedule for Sunday, July 26: Italy will face China for bronze at 9:30 a.m. Italian time, while Turkey and Brazil will play for the title at 1:30 p.m.. The site also recalled that Italy beat China 3-2 two weeks earlier in Hong Kong during VNL week three.

Italian Transfer News

Cucine Lube Civitanova completed its outside-hitter department by signing Miran Kujundzic. Volleyball.it reported that the Serbian international, born in 1997 and listed at 196 centimeters, arrives from JSW Jastrzebski Wegiel and becomes the 14th player in the roster for the 2026-27 season. The article added that the negotiation was completed quickly with the involvement of sporting director Marko Podrascanin, a former teammate of Kujundzic.

The move will give Kujundzic his first experience in SuperLega. Volleyball.it retraced his path from Spartak Subotica to Vojvodina Novi Sad, where he won three national titles and a Super Cup, before later spells with Tourcoing, Paris Volley, Suwalki, Skra Belchatow, Jastrzebski and Galatasaray. In his comments carried by the site, Kujundzic described Italy as the place where "the best volleyball" is played and stressed his interest in the tactical preparation that characterizes the league.

Beach Volley

There was also progress for Italy on the sand. Manuel Alfieri and Alex Ranghieri advanced to the quarterfinals of the BPT Challenge in Shangluo, the seventh and final Challenge event of the 2026 Beach Pro Tour season. After winning Pool C with victories over the Czech pair Semerad-Stocek and the Norwegian team of Sebastian and Jonah Andre Kjemperud, the Italians defeated Latvia’s Bedritis-Rinkevics in the round of 16.

The knockout match ended in straight sets, 21-18, 21-14, confirming the positive form noted by Volleyball.it. Their next match is against Germany’s Ehlers-Wust, with the quarterfinal scheduled for Saturday, July 25 at 11:20 a.m. Italian time. The site also noted the tournament format: a 32-pair main draw divided into eight pools, with direct elimination from the quarterfinals onward.

Youth National Teams

At youth level, Volleyball.it reported that Italy has finalized its 14-player squad for the Under 17 Women’s World Championship, to be played in Santiago del Cile from August 6 to 16. On the indication of women’s youth technical director Marco Mencarelli, the team will regroup on July 27 at the Centro Pavesi FIPAV in Milan for the last preparation camp, before departing for Chile on the afternoon of July 28.

The roster published by Volleyball.it includes Chiara Bianchin, Beatrice Scalzotto, Matilde Borello, Nicole Crotta, Elena Di Napoli, Ester Fioretti, Erika Jakic, Sofia Martinengo, Alice Pettiti, Kaila Simeonov, Marie Viviane Tarca Gnakpotchi, Sveva Terzi, Hillary Uwadiae and Beatrice Zannese. The staff group will include Monica Cresta as head coach, with Claudio Feyles as assistant and Riccardo Rocco also named among the technical staff as Italy moves into the final phase of preparation for the world event.