VolleyBar41# : Monday July 13, 2026

If you wish to publish an Italian translation of this article, any of our other articles, or any part of them, please cite the original source. Plagiarism is illegal!

Welcome to the 41st episode of VolleyBar, the very first daily column EVER to bring you all the biggest volleyball news of the day, all in one place!
Needless to remind you that we’ve naturally been copied and translated into Italian several times by some of the industry’s finest “professionals.” We’re actually proud of it because, as the wise man once said, copying is the most honest gesture a person can make—it means admitting that someone else is better than you!

In the first episode of the new week, we’re in France, where AS Cannes has officially announced the signing of Jakub Bucki.
Arriving from Asseco Resovia Rzeszów, one of the top clubs in the highly competitive Polish league, the 1.97 m opposite joins the club to strengthen their offense.

About Poland, Cuprum Stilon Gorzów has signed Illia Kovalov, a Ukrainian international outside hitter well known to PlusLiga fans after spending the last three seasons with Barkom-Każany Lviv.
He is currently with the Ukrainian national team in Belgrade, where they are preparing for the third week of the FIVB Volleyball Nations League!

Another product of the Gdańsk youth academy has earned his chance to debut in PlusLiga: Young outside hitter Maksymilian Durski, promoted to the first team of Trefl Gdańsk.

Like Marcel Schadach, Durski won the bronze medal at this year’s Polish Junior Championship.
His performances also caught the attention of Piotr Graban, head coach of Poland’s U22 national team, who selected him for this year’s U22 European Championship in Portugal. Poland went on to win the silver medal, losing only to the Czech Republic in the final.
Now, Durski and Schadach are ready for the next step in their careers. Both players will have the opportunity to continue their development in PlusLiga as members of Trefl Gdańsk for the 2026/27 season.

“We are delighted to see more academy graduates joining the first team,” said club president Dariusz Gadomski in the club’s statement, “Marcel and Maksymilian were among the leaders of the squad that won the bronze medal at the Polish Junior Championship, and their individual awards confirm the quality they possess. We are convinced they have earned this opportunity through their hard work. We want Trefl Gdańsk to be a place where young players can develop and progress from the youth ranks all the way to PlusLiga. This is an important moment for both the players and our entire development system.”

Trefl Gdańsk 2026/27 roster:
Opposites: Aliaksei Nasevich, Damian Schulz
Outside Hitters: Damian Kogut, Piotr Orczyk, Michał Gierżot, Maksymilian Durski
Middle Blockers: Piotr Nowakowski, Mariusz Schamlewski, Moustapha M’Baye, Patryk Niemiec
Setters: Joe Worsley, Przemysław Stępień
Liberos: Voitto Köykkä, Marcel Schadach

A move to the German Bundesliga for Paul Nusterer, last three seasons in Union Raiffeisen Waldviertel.
The Austrian outside hitter from Lower Austria is taking the next step in his career and will compete next season for SWD powervolleys Düren, who finished third in the Bundesliga last season.

In Greece, Olympiacos has officially announced the contract extension of Dimitris Tziavras.
The Greek international libero has signed a new three-year contract.

And now, it’s time for some international volleyball news.
Surely a great a night for Italian women’s volleyball as both the U18 and U22 squads capture European Championship gold.
Italy U18 sweeps Türkiye in straight sets to lock in their 4th title at this tournament: 25:20, 25:16, 25:15, while the U22 squad secures a historic 3-Peat after battling past Serbia in four sets: 25:21, 25:19, 18:25, 25:13.
Congratulations to both teams!

About Volleyball Nations League, after three consecutive bronze-medal finishes, Poland has failed to qualify for the 2026 VNL Finals.
A heartbreaking five-set loss to Japan (25:20, 25:14, 19:25, 21:25, 13:15) saw Poland finish the preliminary round with a 7–5 record, ending in 9th place.

2026 VNL Individual Award Winners:
Best Scorer: Kiera Van Ryk (Canada)
Best Attacker: Kiera Van Ryk (Canada)
Best Server: Ekaterina Antropova (Italy)
Best Blocker: Júlia Kudiess (Brazil)
Best Setter: Daria Sharhorodska (Ukraine)
Best Digger: Juliette Gelin (France)
Best Receiver: Bojana Gočanin (Serbia)

Congratulations to all of this year’s award winners!
But there is a new for VNL 2026: the traditional Dream Team will no longer be selected after the VNL Finals. Instead, these individual awards are presented at the end of the preliminary round, with each winner receiving a $10,000 cash prize.
The Most Valuable Player (MVP) remains the only award to be announced after the VNL Finals. It will be chosen from the players competing in the championship match through a combined vote by fans and a panel of volleyball experts.

Meanwhile, the Bulgarian women’s national volleyball team has been relegated after finishing last in the competition!
Bulgaria made their first VNL appearance in 2019, where they placed last (16th) and were relegated, ultimately being replaced by Canada. In 2022, after the FIVB banned Russia from international competition, Bulgaria was announced as their replacement in the Nations League. The team narrowly avoided relegation in 2024 after finishing last again. They were saved only because the league expanded to 18 teams for the 2025 season. In 2025, Bulgaria improved to finish in 13th place, but they unfortunately faced relegation once more after finishing last in 2026.

Quarter-finals schedule in Macau:
July 22
• USA – China
• Italy – Netherlands
July 23
• Brazil – Japan
• Turkey – Canada

About men’s competition, the national teams of Poland and France lead the way in Pool I and II after completion of the fifth day of action at U18 CEV European Championship in Porto San Giorgio and Cisterna di Latina before a rest day today.

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