VolleyBar69# : Thursday August 20, 2026

On this day..
Amarcord, Danilo Gelinski, FIVB Boys’ U17 Volleyball World Championship and 2026 Men’s African Nations Volleyball Championship.

Welcome to the 69th episode of VolleyBar!

August 20 has a particularly nice place in volleyball history because it connects two generations of the sport.
Mike Dodd turns 69 today.
Born and raised in Manhattan Beach, California, on August 20 1957, he became one of the great figures of American beach volleyball, winning as many as 75 professional titles during an 18-year career!
His defining Olympic moment came at Atlanta 1996, when he and Mike Whitmarsh won silver in beach volleyball’s first-ever Olympic tournament, losing the final to fellow Americans Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes. Mike was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2012, cementing his place among the sport’s pioneers.

More recently, two decades later, on August 20, 2016, China completed another Olympic milestone in Rio, defeating Serbia 3–1 to win its third women’s indoor volleyball gold medal. China had entered the knockout stage after losing three matches in the preliminary round, then stunned hosts Brazil in a dramatic quarter-final before beating the Netherlands and Serbia.
After losing the opening set 19:25 to Serbia, Jenny Lang Ping’s team fought back to win the next three 25:17, 25:22, 25:23. Zhu Ting led the way with 25 points and was named the tournament’s MVP, while a young Tijana Bošković scored 23 for Serbia.
It was China’s third Olympic gold in women’s volleyball — but also a remarkable triumph for Lang Ping, who had won Olympic gold as a player in 1984 and returned to the top of the podium 32 years later as a coach!
And in Rio, she became the first person in volleyball history to win Olympic gold both as a player and as a coach.

But now some breaking news. Brazilian setter Danilo Gelinski, champion of France with Cannes in 2020/21 season and last season in Romania’s Rapid București, moves to Israel, where he will defend colors of Maccabi Yeodim Tel Aviv.

France dominated Tunisia in straight sets in their opening match of Pool A in second day of FIVB Boys’ U17 Volleyball World Championship, winning 25:17, 25:13, 25:19 in Pool A. France controlled the match from the opening whistle, dominating the second set before closing out a convincing sweep.
Jaden Ebagne Yon delivered a standout performance as the match’s top scorer with 19 points including 1 block and 2 aces.
Brazil began their campaign with a straight-set victory over Mexico in Pool C (25:16, 25:16, 25:19).
After Brazil’s commanding victory, Lucas Pereira de Abreu delivered a great performance as the match’s top scorer with 17 points, as many as 7 blocks and 2 aces.
India clinched their first victory in Pool B, defeating Cuba in straight sets in their opening match 3-0 (25:18, 26:24, 25:22), while Chinese Taipei suffered a defeat against Pakistan 0-3 (20:25, 10:25, 23:25).

The Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) has announced that the 2026 Men’s African Nations Volleyball Championship will now take place in Tunis, Tunisia, rather than in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, the city originally selected to host the competition.
This decision follows communications received in recent weeks from several National Federations, conveying concerns raised by their respective national authorities regarding the travel of their delegations to Kinshasa, in light of the current health situation observed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The CAVB wishes to emphasize that this decision, dictated solely by health and safety considerations, in no way calls into question the trust and the excellent partnership shared between the CAVB, the Congolese Volleyball Federation, and the authorities of the DR Congo.
The championship will accordingly be held from 13 to 26 September 2026, bringing together Africa’s leading men’s national teams for the continent’s premier national team competition.
The championship was originally scheduled for 7–21 September 2026 in Kinshasa, but the CAVB Board of Administration has taken the decision to relocate the tournament to Tunisia following health concerns.
Importantly, the 2026 Men’s African Nations Volleyball Championship will also serve as a major qualification pathway, acting as a qualifier for the LA2028 Olympic Games as well as the FIVB Volleyball World Cup 2027.

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