VolleyBar SPECIAL: Sunday August 9, 2026
4 min read
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 second special weekend episode. Yes, that’s right — this time too, we decided to make an exception and skip our usual weekend break with a first transfer news. After a season in Toulouse, French outside hitter Pierre Derouillon is moving to the Czech Republic, where he will join reigning champions Karlovarsko.
Staying in Europe, Bulgaria’s U17 men’s national team have been crowned champions of the Balkan Championship after an incredibly hard-fought final against Türkiye. Following a five-set battle full of twists, turns and tension right down to the final point, the Bulgarian youngsters secured a well-deserved 3–2 victory.
After suffering a dramatic tie-break defeat to their opponents earlier in the tournament, Bulgaria got their revenge when it mattered most — in the gold-medal final!
Korea claimed their second consecutive gold medal at the Asian Eastern Zonal Men’s Volleyball Championship after defeating Japan in a hard-fought four-set battle: 40:38, 25:17, 23:25, 25:22!
And Japan, despite fielding a young squad, secured the silver medal marking their first podium finish since 2017, when they won the championship!
Brazil faced Chile and Argentina played against Colombia in the semifinals of the South American Men’s Volleyball Cup after the group stage concluded in Cochabamba.
Argentina and Brazil advanced as group winners, while Chile and Colombia claimed the runner-up positions to complete the final four at the José Casto Méndez Coliseum.
Brazil finished top of Group B after beating Colombia 3-1 (26:24, 19:25, 25:23, 25:21) to stay unbeaten, with 18 points from Guilherme Sabino, matching Colombia’s Miguel Ángel Martínez “Amaranto,” who continues to lead the tournament scoring chart with 54 points.
Argentina secured first place in Group A with a 3-1 (26:24, 27:29, 25:20, 25:22) victory over Chile in the longest match of the competition so far, lasted two hours and 15 minutes. Iñaki Ramos led Argentina with 21 points, while Noe Aravena scored 20 for Chile and moved to 47 points for the tournament.
Venezuela, meanwhile, collected first victory with a 3-1 win over Paraguay with 21 points from Jean Herrera.
Hosts Bolivia also earned their first win, sweeping Peru 3-0 in front of a packed home crowd with 20 points from Pablo Choque.
Colombia and Chile have already secured two of the available berths in the Olympic qualifying tournament, joining Brazil and Argentina, who had qualified through the rankings.
The remaining two places will be decided when Venezuela meets Peru and Bolivia faces Paraguay.
The teams progressing to the next qualifying competition in Rio de Janeiro will continue their pursuit of a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, with qualification for the 2027 World Championship in Poland also at stake.
In Semifinal Brazil, who down Chile at tie break (25:17, 23:25, 23:25, 25:13, 19:17) in a thrilling semifinal clash, will face Argentina (victorious 3-1 against Colombia – 23:25, 28:26, 27:25, 25:15) this European night for Gold!
Chile and Colombia will compete for Bronze.
And now something about Brazil!
34 years ago today, Brazil made history in Barcelona!
On August 9, 1992, Brazil’s men’s volleyball team defeated the Netherlands 3–0 in the Olympic final to claim the country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in a team sport. Marcelo Negrão’s unforgettable final serve sealed a landmark triumph that helped transform volleyball into one of Brazil’s most beloved sports!
Meanwhile, Venezuela swept USA 3-0 (25:23, 25:21, 26:24) in semifinals to advance to the Gold Medal Match against Canada at the U17 Pan American Cup, with 10 points from Diego Rondon, while USA will face Mexico for Bronze.
About Africa, the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) has launched a Beach Volleyball Coaching Seminar in Saly, Senegal, bringing together coaches from across the continent for intensive training aimed at raising the standard of the sport in Africa.
The seminar, running this week, forms part of CAVB’s broader strategy to develop technical expertise and build capacity ahead of major youth and senior competitions on the continent.
Leading the course are two highly experienced international instructors:
– Victor Christophe from France
– Kone Ibrahim from Ivory Coast
Both instructors are expected to cover key areas including modern coaching methodologies, athlete development, game analysis, and FIVB beach volleyball rules and regulations.
The program combines classroom sessions with practical work on the sand.
The coaching seminar runs alongside other CAVB development activities in Senegal this month, including the ongoing International Referee Course and preparations for the CAVB Beach Volleyball Youth Development Cup.
With 25 referees also in training and youth teams set to arrive, Saly has become the hub for beach volleyball development in Africa this August.
And now, after this great roundup of news — which we hope won’t be brutally translated into Italian without our consent — we’ll say goodbye and see you tomorrow as we kick off a new week.
Same time as always: 8 PM!
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