VolleyBar75# : Friday August 28, 2026

On this day..
Amarcord and volleyball birthdays, NORCECA Men’s Final Six and Boys’ U17 Volleyball World Championship, memorial Wagner and Haukea Mare.

Welcome to 75th episode of VolleyBar!
Yes, we’re already at 75 publications, in addition to the various special editions we released over the weekend.
And here’s a little preview: we’ll be here again this weekend, as a one-off exception.
Although, judging by how often these “exceptions” are happening, they’re starting to feel like the norm! 😅
So, we’ll see if and when it might be time to change things up.

On August 28, 2004, China won the women’s Olympic volleyball gold medal in Athens, defeating Russia 3–2 in one of the most dramatic finals in Olympic volleyball history.
Russia won the opening two sets 30:28 and 27:25, leaving China facing a seemingly desperate situation. But the Chinese team, led by stars such as Feng Kun, Yang Hao and Zhang Ping, turned the match around, winning the next three sets 25:20, 25:23, 15:12.
The victory gave China its second Olympic women’s volleyball title, 20 years after its first, and came after a remarkable comeback from two sets down. Russia, meanwhile, had to settle for silver, while Cuba took bronze.
It was also a particularly significant triumph because China had entered the tournament as the reigning 2003 World Cup champions, and the Athens final became one of the defining matches of the so-called “golden generation” of Chinese women’s volleyball.
On the same day Cuba defeated Brazil to claim the women’s bronze medal. It marked the end of an extraordinary Olympic era for the Cubans: after winning gold at Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000, Cuba finished third in Athens, behind China and Russia!

The same day in Athens also saw the men’s tournament take shape for its final act.
Brazil defeated the United States 3–0 in the semifinal, 25:16, 25:17, 25:23, while Italy beat Russia 3–0, setting up an Olympic final between two of the strongest men’s teams of the era.
Brazil would go on to win the gold the following day, defeating Italy 3–1 and completing an extraordinary period of dominance: the South Americans had already won the 2002 World Championship, 2003 World Cup and 2004 World League before arriving in Athens!

Three years ago, on August 28, 2023, in front of 8,728 spectators at the Unipol Arena in Casalecchio di Reno, Italy officially opened the 33rd edition of the Men’s European Volleyball Championship.
Ferdinando De Giorgi’s side dominated Belgium 3–0 (25:17, 25:18, 25:15). Alessandro Michieletto was the match’s top scorer with 13 points, followed by Roberto Russo with 12.
That opening victory in Pool A marked the beginning of a campaign that would eventually take Italy all the way to the silver medal. In the final in Rome, however, Poland proved too strong, deservedly claiming the European title.

The Turkish opposite Seray Altay was born in Ankara on this day in 1987. She enjoyed a long career in Turkish volleyball, representing clubs including Eczacıbaşı, VakıfBank, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş. One of her biggest achievements came in 2011, when she won the CEV Champions League with VakıfBank.

About volleyball birthdays, Gas Sales Piacenza celebrated this day the birthday of Dragan Travica! On August 28, 1986, Dragan Travica was born in Zagreb and today, the former Italian international setter turns 40.
Standing at two metres tall, he made 200 appearances for the Italian national team, making his international debut on November 11, 2007, in Forlì against the All Stars of Serie A2.
The high point of his career remains the Olympic bronze medal at London 2012. His international honours also include European Championship silver medals in 2011 and 2013, bronze at the 2013 FIVB World League, and another bronze medal at the same year’s FIVB Grand Champions Cup.

But now back to the present.
Canada in the Top 4 of the NORCECA Men’s Final Six!
Canada defeated Dominican Republic 3-0 (25:23, 25:20, 25:22) to reach the semifinals, while the rivals will play for positions 5-6. Arthur Szwarc led the winners with 3 points.
Meanwhile, Mexico bounced back from a tough first set to beat Guatemala 3-1 (27:29, 25:22, 25:23, 25:20).
Guatemala will face Dominican Republic for positions 5-6.
Franky Hernández top-scored Mexico with 21 points, the same number of points of Andy Blanco on tie other side of the net.
A perfect USA tops NORCECA Final Six Preliminary Round after a 3-1 (25:23, 22:25, 25:23, 25:21) victory over host Puerto Rico to finish undefeated with a 5-0 record.
USA and Puerto Rico will meet again in tomorrow’s semifinal at 8:00 p.m. Local Time.
The other semifinal will feature Canada vs. Mexico at 6:00 p.m. Local Time.
Pelegrin Vargas led all scorers with 17 points for Puerto Rico, while Sean Kelly tallied 14 for the winners.

France takes down a formidable Brazil in four sets, punching their ticket to the gold medal match of the Boys’ U17 Volleyball World Championship: 23:25, 25:19, 25:21, 25:21.
And the gold medal matchup is officially locked in, as also Iran advances to the Final after defeating Argentina in straight sets: 25:19, 29:27, 25:13.
They are now set for an epic showdown against fellow undefeated powerhouse France for the U17 world title.

The 23rd Hubert Jerzy Wagner Memorial begins today in Kraków, bringing Poland, the United States, Slovenia and France together at the Tauron Arena from August 28 to 30. Today USA faced France and, in the evening at 20.30 local time Poland will face Slovenia.
Our collaborator and friend Ivan is on site and will be covering all the matches!

We close today’s episode with an anticipation from France: after a great season with Montpellier, the reigning champions say thank you and goodbye to middle blocker Haukea Mare.
As already announced amoung our transfers rumors, his next destination is Nice!

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