USA sweep Italy to reach VNL Semifinals, set up blockbuster clash with undefeated Japan!

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The United States booked their place in the 2026 Volleyball Nations League semifinals after defeating Italy in straight sets, 3-0 (25:22, 25:21, 25:21), at the Beilun Sports and Arts Centre in Ningbo, China.
After claiming the bronze medal with a victory, this success sends Karch Kiraly’s squad into a highly anticipated semifinal against an unbeaten Japan, while World Champions Italy’s impressive VNL campaign comes to an end.

Despite moments of strong volleyball, the reigning world champions were unable to establish their rhythm against an aggressive American side that dominated from the service line and controlled the key moments of the match.
Italy conclude their VNL journey with an 8-4 record, having collected three wins in Ottawa, two in Ljubljana, and three more in Osaka during the preliminary phase.
Interestingly, the Italians had already defeated the United States 3-2 during the intercontinental stage on June 15 in Canada, but were unable to repeat that performance when it mattered most.

Italy head coach Ferdinando De Giorgi started with Simone Giannelli and Yuri Romanò on the diagonal, Daniele Lavia and Mattia Bottolo as outside hitters, Leandro Mati and Gianluca Sanguinetti in the middle, with Fabio Balaso at libero.
The United States, coached by Karch Kiraly, opened with Micah Christenson at setter, Kyle Hanes opposite, Matt Anderson and Champlin on the wings, Taylor Averill in the middle, and Erik Shoji at libero.

Italy looked tense in the opening exchanges, allowing the United States to establish an early 9-6 advantage.
As the set progressed, the Italians gradually found their rhythm. Romanò led the comeback offensively before Bottolo leveled the score at 17-17.
The teams traded points through the closing stages, with Romanò keeping Italy within striking distance at 21-20. However, a very combative USA produced another decisive run late in the set, taking it 25-22.
Although Italy briefly moved in front, the United States quickly regained control, turning the score around to lead 5-4. De Giorgi introduced Paolo Porro for Lavia in an attempt to spark the offense, but Hanes answered with a key ace to make it 9-6.
Sanguinetti responded with an ace of his own, cutting the deficit to one point, yet the American serving pressure continued to create problems in reception. The lead stretched to 13-8, prompting De Giorgi to also send Laurenzano onto the court for Balaso.
Bottolo kept Italy alive with several important kills, but the United States maintained their composure and converted their third set point to win 25-21, moving within one set of the semifinals.

The final set began on even terms before Italy appeared ready to force the match back into contention. Porro gave the Italians a 7-6 lead, while Sanguinetti’s ace extended the advantage to 11-8. Bottolo added another attack for 13-9, marking Italy’s best spell of the evening.
The Americans, however, responded with remarkable consistency. Trailing 15-11, Jakes Hanes fired three consecutive aces, completely changing the momentum of the match. One additional serve, although not an ace, broke down Italy’s reception and helped the Americans score four straight break points, slowly erasing the deficit before drawing level at 17-17, and once they moved ahead, they never looked back. Another composed finish sealed the set 25-21 and completed a convincing 3-0 victory.

The match will be remembered above all for the Americans’ outstanding serving performance, as they finished with an incredible 14 aces, constantly putting Italy’s reception under pressure and preventing the reigning world champions from developing their trademark fast-paced offense.
Leading the charge was 28-year-old opposite Jake Hanes, who produced a sensational performance from the service line with six aces, including a decisive run in the third set.
Yuri Romanò led Italy with 16 points.

Interestingly, the attacking numbers were perfectly even, with both teams scoring 38 points in attack. The decisive difference came behind the service line, where the United States dominated with 14 aces compared to Italy’s five.
Overall, the Americans outscored Italy 74-64, highlighting their superiority in the most important phases of the game.
Italy held a slight edge in blocking (4-3) and reception efficiency (59% to 51%), but those advantages were outweighed by the enormous pressure created by the American serve.

The United States will now face Japan in one semifinal, with a place in the VNL Final at stake.
The other semifinal will feature Slovenia against the winner of the final quarterfinal between Poland and Ukraine.

“It’s more of a feeling than a thinking thing. You just have to trust yourself,” Jake Hanes told about his amazing performance from the serving line. “I think we all did a good job of trying to stay aggressive against a really good side-out team. So, we had to come together and hit some good serves and it ended up working out for us.”

“They are a strong team, we know that. They played well. I think we also played quite well, but the problem was with reception,” Italy’s Yuri Romano said. “When we played the ball, we were good, but we allowed too many aces and that’s it – when you don’t hold your side-out, it’s difficult. The positive takeaway from this VNL is that we played with a lot of players, also some very good young ones, who played very well during the VNL. So, we start from this for the European Championship.”

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🏐| FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2026 | QUARTERFINALS
📍Ningbo Beilun – China 🇨🇳

—Wednesday | July 29, 2026 —
• 15.00 (Local Time) | Slovenia – Türkiye 3-0 (25:21, 35:33, 39:37)
• 19.30 (Local Time) | Japan – China 3-1 (23:25, 25:23, 25:16, 25:23)

— Thursday | July 30, 2026 —
👉🏼 15.00 (Local Time) | Italy – USA 0-3 (22:25, 21:25, 21:25)
• 19.30 (Local Time) | Poland – Ukraine 3-1 (25:22, 22:25, 25:20, 25:17)

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