Alan Nine
Men’s EuroVolley
Italy finished the group stage of the 2026 Men’s EuroVolley unbeaten, holding off a Slovenian comeback to win 3-2 (25-19, 25-22, 27-29, 19-25, 15-9) at the PalaPanini. The result gave Ferdinando De Giorgi’s side five wins from five and top spot in Pool A with 14 points.
Italy had already secured first place by winning the opening two sets, allowing De Giorgi to turn to his bench and give more court time to players who had featured less during the group stage. Slovenia took advantage to force a tie-break, but the hosts regained control in the decider, opening up leads of 5-2 and 12-6 before sealing victory. Kamil Rychlicki led Italy with 13 points, followed by Daniele Lavia with 12, as the home side registered eight aces and nine blocks in front of 4,798 spectators. De Giorgi welcomed the challenge faced by his reshuffled line-up, highlighting their fifth-set response as a valuable test ahead of the knockout rounds. He also stressed that Alessandro Michieletto, who contributed eight points after coming on in the third set, is continuing to build match rhythm and is fully available to play his part.
Next up are Denmark, who finished fourth in Pool C. The round-of-16 match takes place at Turin’s PalaVela on Sunday, 20 September, at 21:05.
Across the tournament, Bulgaria’s Aleksandar Nikolov ended the group stage as the leading scorer with 117 points. Ukraine’s Oleh Plotnytskyi topped the serving charts with 19 aces, while Belgium’s Martijn Colson led the blockers with 22. Yuri Romanò was Italy’s leading scorer with 78 points, and Pardo Mati recorded 14 blocks.
Italian SuperLega
Parma’s historic PalaRaschi (photo) will welcome back elite men’s volleyball when it hosts the Del Monte Super Cup on 14 and 15 November.
The competition’s 31st edition will bring together Sir Susa Scai Perugia, Rana Verona, Cucine Lube Civitanova and Itas Trentino. Perugia face Trentino in one semi-final, with Verona taking on Civitanova in the other.
The choice of venue gives the event an added sense of occasion. Home to Parma’s celebrated Santal and Maxicono teams, the PalaRaschi holds a special place in Italian volleyball history. Following its recent renovation, the arena is ready to host another major national competition.
Club News
Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza outside hitter Cooper Steele Robinson has undergone successful surgery on his right knee in Los Angeles.
Robinson had been sidelined following his international commitments with the United States, which included the Volleyball Nations League and the Hubert Wagner Memorial. No recovery timetable has been set. He is expected to arrive in Piacenza in the coming weeks to continue his rehabilitation under the supervision of the club’s medical staff.
Meanwhile, Perugia are preparing to welcome back former opposite Wassim Ben Tara, whose Suntory Sunbirds Osaka side will visit the PalaBarton for the Oji Cup on 7 and 8 October.
Both matches begin at 20:30. All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Daniele Chianelli Committee, which supports patients with blood cancers and their families, as well as medical research.
International
China, Thailand, South Korea and Japan all came through their pools unbeaten in the women’s volleyball tournament at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
China swept Kazakhstan, while Thailand also won in straight sets against Chinese Taipei. South Korea overcame Vietnam 3-1, with Kang contributing 27 points.
The quarter-finals at Park Arena Komaki will see China face Vietnam, Japan take on Chinese Taipei, South Korea meet Kazakhstan and Thailand play Indonesia.
Beach Volleyball
Jack Bernardini and Federico Viscuso maintained their unbeaten run at the European Under-18 Beach Volleyball Championships in Foça, finishing Pool C with three wins from three.
The Italian pair defeated Belgium’s De Bakker/Eennaes and the Czech Republic’s Novotny/Votava in straight sets to complete a perfect group-stage campaign.
In the women’s competition, Micol Lafuenti and Margherita Coretti lost 21-23, 14-21 to the Czech pairing of Sebova/Mifkova, but still progressed with two wins from three. They will face Slovakia’s Mackovich/Graffingerova on Saturday at 11:15.
