VolleyBar74# : Thursday August 27, 2026

On this day..
Amarcord and volleyball birthdays, 66-64, NORCECA Final Six, Women, Euro Sitting Volley, quarterfinals of Boys’ U17 World Championship, and Euro Sitting Volley 2026

Welcome to 74th episode of VolleyBar, today with a lot of volleyball news.

One of the most dramatic matches of the 2022 FIVB Men’s World Championship took place on this day, August 27, 2022, in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Iran defeated Olympic bronze medallists Argentina 3–2 (22:25, 30:28, 25:18, 32:34, 21:19) in a match that seemed determined never to end.
Three of the five sets went beyond the regular 25-point limit, including a fourth set that finished 34–32 and a decisive tie-break that went all the way to 21–19. Argentina even had four match points in the fifth set, but Iran survived. Milad Ebadipour led Iran with 21 points, while Facundo Conte scored 20 for Argentina.
The same World Championship produced another remarkable scoreline. On the same day, Italy defeated Canada 3–0 (25:13, 25:18, 39:37), but the final set was anything but routine.
Italy eventually won it 39–37, making it one of the most memorable sets of the tournament.
The match was part of a particularly spectacular day in Ljubljana, which also featured Iran’s five-set thriller against Argentina.
Serbia also began their 2022 World Championship campaign on this date, beating Ukraine 3–0 (28:26, 25:21, 25:20) in Katowice, Poland.
The opening set was particularly tight, with Serbia eventually edging Ukraine 28–26. Uroš Kovačević and Marko Ivović scored 11 points each, while Marko Podraščanin contributed four aces.

On August 27, 2014, before becoming one of the biggest names in men’s beach volleyball, Oleg Stoyanovsky won gold at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing.
Playing alongside Artyom Yarzutkin, the Russian pair defeated Venezuela’s José Gómez and Rolando Hernández 21–12, 21–13 in the final. The tournament took place from August 17 to 27, with the final played on the last day.
It proved to be an important early chapter in Stoyanovsky’s career: five years later, he would become world champion at senior level.

The Spanish outside hitter Israel Rodríguez, is born on born August 27, 1981, he was part of the generation that produced one of Spain’s greatest volleyball achievements: the 2007 European Championship title. Happy Birthday!

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66–64?! Pure Insanity!
Germany outlasts Italy in an absolutely mind-blowing 66–64 opening set at the FIPAV Cup Men Elite!
The marathon set lasted an incredible 1 hour and 29 minutes, smashing the previous rally-point era record of 50–48, set by Argentina and Poland at the 2026 VNL.
Final Score:
64:66, 25:22, 23:25, 25:22, 15:12.

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USA unstoppable at the NORCECA Men’s Final Six, winning a five-set battle to Dominican Republic 3-2 (21:25, 25:21, 25:16, 23:25, 15:11) to go 4-0 and securing a semifinal berth.
Sterling Foley led the winners with 26 points, while Alexis Cruz recorded 21 on the other side of the net.
Canada earns an important win defeating Mexico 3-0 (25:13, 25:17, 25:17) with 12 points from Arthur Szwarc and 11 from Kale Orr. Both Canada and Mexico hold a 2-2 record.
Puerto Rico wins a thriller 3-2 (20:25, 25:22, 25:18, 19:25, 15:7) against Guatemala to secure a spot in the NORCECA Final Six Semifinals, with now a 3-1 record. Jair Santiago top-scored the winners with 24 points.

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And now something about women’s competitions.
After a thrilling, hard-fought battle, Canada edges out USA in a five-set epic to capture their first-ever NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship gold medal: 25:23, 25:23, 20:25, 18:25, 15:10.
Congratulations, Team Canada!

Meanwhile, Cuba pulled off a massive upset, sweeping host Dominican Republic in straight sets (26:24, 25:17, 25:18) on their home court to claim the bronze medal. The victory officially puts an end to the Dominican Republic’s dominant run, snapping their three-tournament gold medal streak (2019, 2021, 2023) and leaving the defending champions off the continental podium entirely.
This marks Cuba’s first podium finish at the NORCECA Championship in 15 years (their last medal coming in 2011).
Las Morenas del Caribe continues to hold the record for the most gold medals in tournament history, bringing their historic tally to:
13 Gold
7 Silver
3 Bronze

Congratulations to all the Award Winners at the 2026 NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship!

• MVP: Kacey Jost (Canada)
• 1st Best Spiker: Simone Lee-Wank (USA)
• 2nd Best Spiker: Decelise Champion (Puerto Rico)
• 1st Best Blocker: Geraldine Gonzalez (Dominican Republic)
• 2nd Best Blocker: Chiaka Ogbogu (USA)
• Best Setter: Gretell Moreno (Cuba)
• Best Opposite: Regla De La Peña (Cuba)
• Best Libero: Yanisleidis Sanchez (Cuba)
• Best Digger: Yanisleidis Sanchez (Cuba)
• Best Receiver: Abagayle Guezen (Canada)
• Best Server: Paola Rivera (Mexico)
• Best Scorer: Decelise Champion (Puerto Rico)

Either way, three teams from NORCECA have officially secured their spots in the 2027 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup, joining hosts USA and Canada, who are already qualified.

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
🇨🇺 Cuba
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

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About Boys’ U17 World Championship, France leaves no doubt in the quarterfinals! With a clinical straight-sets victory over Romania, the French squad secures their spot in the semifinals and keeps their championship dreams alive, 3-0 (25:17, 25:19, 25:21).
Also Brazil secures their ticket to the Final Four, taking care of business with a dominant straight-sets sweep over Venezuela: 25:19, 25:13, 25:14.
Iran defeated Pakistan at tie break, (25:23, 20:25, 17:25, 25:11, 16:14), while the game between Argentina and Poland started at 7pm, and we will update the result soon!

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Latvia claims the sitting volley 2026 European Championship Div. B Men’s crown after a thrilling 3–1 (25:14, 23:25, 25:10, 25:16) victory over Italy in the Gold Medal Match!
After dropping a tight second set, Latvia reset their focus and dominated the net to storm through the third and fourth sets for the championship title!
Huge congratulations to Latvia on an unforgettable gold medal run, and respect to Italy for an awesome final battle!
France caps off an incredible tournament campaign with a podium finish, storming to a decisive 3–0 (25:18, 25:19, 25:13) sweep over Lithuania to secure the Bronze Medal at Euro Sitting Volley 2026!
Les Bleus controlled the game from the very first serve, putting on a dominant display at the net and locking in the victory in straight sets!

In Women competition, Türkiye takes the Gold at the 2026 European Championships Div. B after an absolute thriller of a final!
Hungary gave everything in a tense four-set battle, but the winners held their ground to secure a 3-1 (25:8, 26:24, 25:27, 25:16) victory and claim the top of the podium in Brno.

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