Alan Nine
Italy secured first place in their EuroVolley pool and confirmed their place in the knockout stage in Turin. Elsewhere, the United States won the NORCECA Championship, Italy’s Under-18 beach volleyball pairs made unbeaten starts in Turkey and the Italian Volleyball Federation celebrated its 80th anniversary.
Men’s EuroVolley
MODENA — Italy secured first place in Pool A of the 2026 Men’s EuroVolley by winning the opening two sets of their final pool match against Slovenia.
Taking those two sets was enough to guarantee Italy top spot regardless of the eventual result at the PalaPanini, while Slovenia were confirmed in second place.
The result also completed the line-up for the round of 16.
Italy will return to action at the PalaVela in Turin at 21:05 on Sunday, September 20. The venue, which has a capacity of 8,294, will host four round-of-16 matches and two quarter-finals between September 20 and 23.
Earlier in Pool A, Greece defeated Slovakia 3-1 to finish third, ahead of the Czech Republic.
Markou led Greece with 21 points, while Pitakoudis contributed 17.
In Pool C, Belgium beat Serbia in straight sets, with Reggers scoring 16 points and Deroo adding 14.
International
The United States won the 2026 NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship after holding off a Canadian comeback in a five-set final at the Avenir Centre.
The Americans won the opening two sets before Canada drew level, but the United States recovered to take the tie-break 15-13 and complete a 3-2 victory.
The set scores were 25-19, 26-24, 25-27, 17-25 and 15-13.
Matt Anderson and Jake Hanes scored 18 points apiece for the champions. Anderson recorded 17 attacking points and one ace, while Hanes contributed 15 attacks, two blocks and an ace.
The United States held a 64-55 advantage in attacking points.
Cuba secured the bronze medal with a 3-0 victory over the Dominican Republic, winning 25-22, 25-19 and 26-24.
Robertlandy Simón, Miguel López and Marlon Yant each scored 11 points. The podium finish also earned Cuba a place at the 2027 Men’s World Cup in Poland.
Beach Volleyball
Italy made a perfect start to the European Under-18 Beach Volleyball Championships in Foça, Turkey, winning three matches without dropping a set.
In women’s Pool D, Micol Lafuenti and Margherita Coretti defeated Andorra’s Garcia/Naran 21-8, 21-6 before overcoming Finland’s Kyröläinen/Waldén 21-14, 21-15.
In men’s Pool C, Jack Bernardini and Federico Viscuso opened their campaign with a 21-15, 21-15 victory over Romania’s Stere/Egor.
The tournament will continue until Sunday, with both Italian pairs returning to pool action on Friday.
Italian Clubs
Loveth Omoruyi (pic) has undergone knee surgery following the injury she suffered during one of Italy’s final warm-up matches before the Women’s European Championship.
The Megabox Vallefoglia outside hitter underwent reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament, repairs to both the medial and lateral meniscus, and the removal of loose cartilage fragments.
She has begun her rehabilitation programme and will remain non-weight-bearing for the first month of her recovery.
Rana Verona have announced that Lorenzo Cortesia suffered a muscle injury while training with the Italian national team.
The middle blocker is following an individual recovery programme, although the club have not disclosed the severity of the injury or provided a timetable for his return.
Federation
The Italian Volleyball Federation celebrated its 80th anniversary with the premiere of the documentary 80 YEARS – FIPAV ANNIVERSARY at Cinema Raffaello in Modena.
Federation president Giuseppe Manfredi, former president Carlo Magri and Italy women’s head coach Julio Velasco were among the guests attending the screening.
The documentary traces eight decades of Italian volleyball history.
