On this day..
American Amarcord and volleyball birthdays, Italy, Jastrzębie Barkom, friendlies, NORCECA Final Six and World Championship U17.
Welcome to the first weekly episode of VolleyBar — although, to be fair, we didn’t exactly stop for the weekend either!
Here you’ll find the main volleyball stories of the day (and we were the first to create a daily column following this format), but to set ourselves apart from the imitations, we’ve decided to include some of the more unusual stories you won’t find anywhere else — at least not until you eventually find them translated into Italian “somewhere,” along with some of our articles!
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August 24 has a special place in volleyball history, and few moments are more iconic than the day Americans Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor began what would become one of the greatest dynasties in Olympic beach volleyball.
On August 24, 2004, at the Faliro Beach Volleyball Stadium in Athens, they captured the women’s beach volleyball gold medal at the Olympic Games, defeating Brazil’s legendary pair Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar 21–17, 21–11 in a remarkably one-sided final.
The victory was the beginning of something extraordinary. Walsh and May went through the entire Athens tournament without dropping a single set, finishing with a perfect 7–0 record. They had already established themselves as the dominant team on the international circuit, but Olympic gold transformed them from elite players into global stars.
Their partnership would eventually become one of the most dominant in Olympic history. Walsh and May-Treanor went on to win gold again at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, completing an unprecedented three consecutive Olympic titles. Between 2004 and 2012, they won 21 consecutive Olympic matches, never losing a single match at the Games.
August 24, 2004 was also a landmark day for American beach volleyball as a whole.
Earlier that day, Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs defeated Australia’s Natalie Cook and Nicole Sanderson 21–18, 15–21, 15–9 to claim bronze. It meant the United States occupied two places on the women’s Olympic podium, with Walsh and May taking gold and McPeak and Youngs bronze!
And there is another reason to raise a glass to August 24 as Craig Buck, one of the great American indoor volleyball players of his generation, was born on this day in 1958. A towering 2.06m middle blocker, he was part of the United States teams that won Olympic gold at Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988. He also helped the Americans win the 1985 World Cup and 1986 World Championship, completing a remarkable international run. He was even inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1998!
Another notable volleyball birthday belongs to Erik Shoji, born on August 24, 1989. The American libero has built one of the most decorated careers of his generation, including Olympic bronze medals at Rio 2016 and Paris 2024, a World Championship bronze, and major club honours in Europe.
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In Italy, newcomers Volley Prata di Pordenone are celebrating the birthday of their president and main sponsor of Tinet, Maurizio Vecchies! And this year, his birthday falls on a truly special day: today, the team returns to training, ready to embark on its first historic season in the SuperLega!
Meanwhile, this morning the first group of Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza players gathered at the PalabancaSport to begin preparations for the 2026–27 season. Paolo Porro, Dragan Travica, Miguel Gutierrez, Manuel Zlatanov, Francesco Comparoni, Domenico Pace and Francesco Rizzo underwent medical examinations and physical tests, taking their first steps towards the new season.
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In Poland, Jastrzębie Barkom have announced the signing of Maxwell Elgert, who will take charge of running the team’s game in the upcoming season. The Canadian setter joins the club from French side Plessis-Robinson Volley-Ball.
The club have also announced the signing of Brodie Hofer, who will strengthen the team as an outside hitter next season. The Canadian moves to Jastrzębie-Zdrój from Turkish club ON Hotels Alanya Belediyespor.
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You had to see it to believe it: Mexico won the third set against Trinidad and Tobago by the astonishing score of 25–0. A remarkable display of dominance that will certainly go down in the history books!
Russia men’s national team closed out its three-match friendly series with a straight-sets victory over Cuba, 25:21, 34:32, 25:20.
With the win, Russia finishes the friendly series undefeated, sweeping all three opponents, Iran, Belarus, and Cuba too.
In another friendly match played yesterday waiting for EuroVolley 2026, Estonia down Spain 1-3 (21:25, 19:25, 25:22, 21:25).
USA wins NORCECA Final Six opener in Ponce after defeating Mexico in four sets 3-1 (32:30, 25:19, 22:25, 25:20) with 19 points from Sean Kelly including one ace, while Diego Gonzalez top scored Mexico with 20 points.
Meanwhile, hosts Puerto Rico start with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Dominican Republic (25:22, 23:25, 25:23, 25:22) with 20 from top scorer Pedro Molina and 15 each from Klistan Lawrence Pelegrin Vargas, while Canada kicks off the campaign with a straight set win 3-0 (25:14, 25:23, 25:21) against Guatemala with 12 points from Jacob Sargent.
France sweeps Pool A!
France finishes Pool A of the Boys’ U17 Volleyball World Championship with a perfect 3-0 record after sweeping Venezuela (1-2): 27:25, 25:14, 25:15.
In Pool B, Romania down India in four sets (25:21, 23:25, 25:18, 25:16), while Poland, in Pool C, did the same against Mexico (28:30, 25:17, 25:23, 25:20), winning the game also 3-1.
In Pool D Bulgaria down Türkiye also in four sete (25:23, 18:25, 25:19, 25:20) while, in Pool E, Pakistan sweep Algeria in straight sets, 25:17, 25:17 and 25:17.
The FINAL 16 is locked in at the 2026 FIVB Boys’ U17 World Championship in Qatar!
Here is how the Round of 16 match-ups stack up:
🇪🇸 Spain – 🇫🇷 France
🇷🇴 Romania – 🇹🇳 Tunisia
🇧🇬 Bulgaria – 🇻🇪 Venezuela
🇧🇷 Brazil – 🇮🇳 India
🇹🇷 Türkiye – 🇵🇱 Poland
🇮🇹 Italy – 🇦🇷 Argentina
🇵🇰 Pakistan – 🇪🇬 Egypt
🇮🇷 Iran – 🇹🇼 Chinese Taipei
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