Alan Nine
Italy maintained their perfect start to the CEV Trendyol Women’s EuroVolley 2026 with an impressive victory over hosts Sweden, while the men’s Under-17 team secured their place in the knockout stage of the World Championship.
Elsewhere, Mexico recorded a remarkable 25-0 set at the NORCECA Championship, while Belluno completed their Serie A2 roster with the signing of Kristian Gamba.
Women’s EuroVolley
Italy made it three wins from three in Pool D with a 3-0 victory over Sweden at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg.
Julio Velasco’s team won 25-18, 25-23 and 25-14 in front of 6,800 spectators. The Azzurre remain top of the group with nine points and have yet to drop a set.
Ekaterina Antropova led the scoring for Italy with 18 points, while Paola Egonu contributed 14 and Sarah Fahr added 12.
Italy set the tone with an early 4-0 run, using aggressive serving and disciplined defence to control the opening set. Sweden presented a much tougher challenge in the second and established a 22-20 lead, but Antropova brought Italy level before two blocks from Fahr turned the set in the Azzurre’s favour.
The third set was far more one-sided. Italy moved 13-7 ahead, kept Isabelle Haak under constant pressure and sealed the victory with another Fahr block.
The Azzurre finished the match with six aces, nine blocks and a 47% attacking efficiency. Antropova scored nine points in the opening set alone, while Haak led Sweden with 15.
Italy have a rest day on Monday before facing Slovakia on Tuesday, August 25 at 16:00. The match will be broadcast live in Italy on Rai 2, Sky Sport Uno, Sky Sport Arena and DAZN.
Italy’s previous 3-0 victory over Montenegro also attracted a substantial television audience. An average of 890,000 viewers watched the match on Rai 2, representing a 10.15% audience share, while Sky Sport recorded a further 150,000 viewers.
Youth International
Italy’s men’s Under-17 team completed the group stage of the World Championship in Doha with a third consecutive victory, defeating Cuba 3-0 to qualify for the round of 16.
Francesco Conci’s team won 25-22, 25-10 and 26-24, following their earlier victories over Romania and India.
Federico Guiotto finished as the match’s leading scorer with 19 points. Michele Mangini added 11, while Storini contributed 10.
Italy took control of the opening set after trailing 8-7 and dominated the second. Cuba offered much greater resistance in the third, but the Azzurrini held their nerve and completed the victory when Contreras Morales sent a cross-court attack wide.
Italy’s opponents in the round of 16 will be confirmed after the remaining group matches. The knockout fixture is scheduled for Tuesday, August 25.
NORCECA Championship
Mexico recorded an extraordinary 25-0 third set against Trinidad and Tobago at the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship in Santo Domingo.
The set was completed on court rather than awarded by forfeit, with setter Karen Rivera serving all 25 points without making an error. Trinidad and Tobago were unable to side out throughout the entire set. Rivera scored 10 points in the third set and finished the match with 16, all from the service line. Mexico, coached by Nicola Negro, recorded a total of 26 aces.
Trinidad and Tobago scored only 14 points across the three sets, with just five coming from successful attacks.
The extraordinary match took place at the Palacio del Voleibol Ricardo Gioriver Arias in front of only 200 spectators.
Italian Transfer News
Belluno Volley have completed their roster for the 2026/27 Serie A2 season by signing opposite Kristian Gamba. The 26-year-old joins the club after helping Tinet Prata di Pordenone secure promotion to the SuperLega. He has scored more than 4,000 points during eight seasons in Serie A2 and Serie A3.
Gamba remains suspended until August 27 following an anti-doping case. The National Anti-Doping Tribunal ruled that the violation had not been intentional and had not been intended to enhance his performance or influence the outcome of a competition.
On August 21, NADO Italia informed the player that he could resume training with his club, while confirming that the original expiry date of the suspension would remain unchanged.
Gamba can therefore join Belluno’s training group from Monday, August 24 and will be eligible to return to official competition on August 28.
