The five-set Women’s EuroVolley final between Italy and Turkey attracted a huge television audience in Italy, with 3.624 million viewers watching the match on Rai 1.
A day after Turkey retained their European title in Istanbul, head coaches Daniele Santarelli and Julio Velasco reflected on the final and looked ahead to the next international cycle. Meanwhile, Italian clubs continued their preseason preparations for the domestic campaign.
Women’s EuroVolley
Rai 1’s coverage of the final secured a 29.5% audience share. Sky Sport recorded an average audience of 704,000, with viewing figures rising to 1.723 million during the tie-break.
Audiences grew steadily over the course of the tournament. Italy’s matches attracted a cumulative audience of 9.92 million on Rai, while Sky recorded an overall reach of 3.2 million — an increase of 51% compared with the 2023 edition.
Santarelli described Turkey’s 3-2 victory as a fitting conclusion to a demanding campaign. The hosts faced Germany, Poland and Slovenia during the pool stage before meeting Germany again, followed by Serbia and Italy, in the knockout rounds.
The title also secured Turkey’s direct qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Santarelli said his sole focus during the final had been on winning the trophy, but acknowledged that qualifying early would give the national team greater freedom in planning their future international seasons.
After a short break, Santarelli will return to Prosecco DOC A. Carraro Imoco Volley. He said he was pleased with the work carried out by the club’s players and staff during his absence.
Velasco, meanwhile, defended Italy’s achievement in winning silver and praised his players for refusing to give in during a difficult final.
He rejected the suggestion that finishing second should automatically be regarded as a failure, adding that the technical shortcomings exposed during the tournament could be addressed.
Italy introduced significant tactical changes during the summer, including deploying Ekaterina Antropova as an outside hitter and asking libero Eleonora Fersino to cover a larger area of the court in reception and defence.
Velasco expects more opportunities to be given to younger players in next year’s Volleyball Nations League and said he had no concerns about Italy’s path to Olympic qualification.
Italian Women’s Clubs
Prosecco DOC A. Carraro Imoco Volley have returned to the Palaverde following their training camp in Alleghe and will compete in the Città di Pordenone Tournament on September 12 and 13.
Talmassons and Bergamo will meet in Saturday’s opening semi-final at 18:00, before Imoco face Panathinaikos at 20:30. The third-place play-off and final will take place on Sunday.
Laica UYBA have begun their fourth week of preseason with Valeria Battista and Dalila Marchesini back in the squad.
Enrico Barbolini’s team will play a training match against Igor Novara at the Pala Igor on Friday, beginning at 14:00.
Megabox Ondulati del Savio Vallefoglia will host Omag San Giovanni in Marignano in a friendly on Wednesday, September 9 at 17:00.
Alessia Bolzonetti and Lucía Varela Gómez have returned following their international commitments, while Gaia Giovannini remains unavailable after taking part in Italy’s EuroVolley campaign.
SuperLega
Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza began their third week of preseason with a double training session at the PalabancaSport.
Eight sessions are scheduled during the week as the squad continue to improve their fitness and gradually increase the amount of technical and tactical work involving the ball.
Outside hitter Nikola Brborić has joined the squad and begun training with his new team-mates. He said the opportunity would allow him to learn from leading players and continue his development in Italy.
