Daily Volleyball News - September 15: Italy beat Czech Republic to stay perfect

Italy recovered from losing the opening set against the Czech Republic to claim their fourth consecutive victory at the Men’s EuroVolley. Elsewhere, the Trofeo Mimmo Fusco was moved from Busto Arsizio to Monza, Cuneo presented new signing Ethan Champlin and Gabi reflected on Brazil’s latest continental title.

Men’s EuroVolley

Italy came from a set down to defeat the Czech Republic 3-1 and maintain their perfect record in Pool A of the 2026 Men’s EuroVolley.

The Czech Republic won a closely contested opening set 25-23, but Italy responded emphatically by taking the second 25-16 before completing the victory with two 25-20 sets.

The match was watched by 4,487 spectators at the PalaPanini.

Head coach Ferdinando De Giorgi kept the same line-up on court throughout the match and was rewarded with outstanding attacking performances from his leading scorers. Yuri Romanò finished with 24 points and converted 68% of his attacks, while Mattia Bottolo scored 22 points with a 72% success rate. Daniele Lavia added 15 points, converting 13 of his 19 attacks without committing an error or being blocked.

Italy also recorded 14 aces and six blocks as they secured their fourth victory in as many pool matches. First place in Pool A has not yet been secured, however. The final standings will depend on the Czech Republic’s match against Slovenia and Italy’s closing fixture against the Slovenians.

Attention will later turn to Milan, where the official CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 Fan Zone will open in Piazza Duomo at 12:00 on September 21. It will remain open until September 26.

Italian Women’s Volleyball

BUSTO ARSIZIO — The Trofeo Mimmo Fusco has been moved to Monza because of the unavailability of Busto Arsizio’s arena, while UYBA continue to consider alternative venues for their home league matches. The club have explored options in Monza, Novara and Parma, with Novara currently regarded as the leading candidate.

Reports suggest that Novara would ask UYBA to cover only the match-day operating costs, without charging an additional venue fee. Monza are understood to have proposed more expensive terms. The most pessimistic assessments suggest that Busto Arsizio’s arena could remain unavailable for up to two seasons, although no official recovery timetable has been announced. The Trofeo Mimmo Fusco semi-finals will be played on Friday, September 18. UYBA will face Millenium Brescia at 16:00, followed by VBC Cremonese against Club Italia.

The final is scheduled for 17:30 on Saturday.

SuperLega

Newly promoted Acqua Sant’Anna Cuneo have presented United States outside hitter Ethan Champlin ahead of the 2026/27 SuperLega season. The 24-year-old joins the club after graduating from UCLA and spending his first two professional seasons in Germany.

Champlin said that his ambition had always been to test himself against the best and described the SuperLega as a competition featuring many of the world’s leading players. After three weeks of training with Matteo Battocchio’s squad, he praised the atmosphere within the group and promised supporters that Cuneo would compete until the final point of every match. Almost 2,000 spectators attended the club’s opening preseason friendly.

International

Gabi Guimarães has spoken about the emotion of winning the South American Championship with Brazil on home soil and securing direct qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. She said the achievement was particularly significant after a season affected by injuries, mentioning Julia Kudiess and Rosamaria among the important players who had been unable to play as full a part as hoped. Gabi admitted that Brazil had been tense at the beginning of the final against Argentina, but said the team settled as the match progressed, with the more experienced players helping to relieve the pressure on their younger team-mates. She identified the squad’s unity as its greatest strength and said that winning an Olympic gold medal remained Brazil’s long-term objective.

National Championships

The Italian Volleyball Federation has published the official fixtures for the 2026/27 men’s Serie B and women’s Serie B1 and Serie B2 championships. The complete schedules are now available on Pallavolo.it.