VolleyBar78# : Tuesday September 2, 2026

On this day..
Amarcord and volleyball birthdays, Rapha, Joel Banks, Japan, EuroVolleyW and Africa

Welcome September and welcome to 77th episode of VolleyBar!
From one generation to another, September 2 has its own little place in volleyball history.

On September 2, 2014, Iran produced one of the most memorable results of the Men’s World Championship in Poland, defeating the United States 3–2 (25:23, 25:19, 19:25, 18:25, 17:15) in Kraków.
Iran appeared to be heading for a relatively comfortable victory after taking the first two sets, but the United States fought back brilliantly to level the match. The decisive fifth set then became a battle of nerves, with Iran finally winning 17–15.
The victory gave Slobodan Kovač’s team two wins from two matches and put Iran at the top of Pool D with five points. It was also a particularly satisfying result because the Americans had beaten Iran repeatedly in the weeks leading up to the World Championship.
And there is a nice statistical detail: the match produced 211 total points, making it one of the highest-scoring matches of that entire World Championship!

The same day in Poland also gave us another spectacular five-setter.
Italy defeated France 3–2 (20:25, 20:25, 25:23, 25:13, 15:12), coming back from two sets down to complete a remarkable turnaround.
France looked in control after winning the opening two sets, but Italy gradually changed the momentum of the match. The Azzurri dominated the fourth set 25–13 before completing the comeback in the deciding set. With 203 points played, it was another one of the highest-scoring matches of the tournament — meaning that September 2, 2014 produced two five-set matches involving more than 200 points.

That makes the date particularly memorable in the history of the Polish World Championship!

But there was another little gem hidden in that same World Championship day: Cameroon defeated Venezuela, and the third set became a spectacular scoring battle, ending 33–31.
That was the highest-scoring set of the tournament up to that point, and one of the clearest examples of just how dramatic the 2014 competition could become!

September 2 also gives us a nice beach-volleyball birthday connection.
Swiss beach volleyball player Simone Kuhn was born on September 2, 1980. She represented Switzerland at three consecutive Olympic Games: Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
At Beijing 2008, Kuhn partnered Lea Schwer, and their Olympic participation made her one of the most experienced Swiss beach volleyball players of her generation.
A lovely reminder that the Swiss beach volleyball tradition goes back much further than the current generation.

On September 2, 2002, Hawai’i defeated UCLA 3–1 (30:28, 30:25, 28:30, 30:13) to win the Hawaiian Airlines Classic.
The fourth-ranked Rainbow Wahine dominated the final set after UCLA had managed to steal the third, closing the tournament with a convincing victory. Hawai’i’s Kim Willoughby was already making an impact at the beginning of what would become a remarkable career.
It is not a major international event, of course, but the Hawaiian program has played an important role in the development of elite American women’s volleyball, making this a nice historical footnote.
And yes, the score may look unusual to modern volleyball fans, but there is a simple explanation: sets were played to 30 points at the time, rather than the 25-point format used today. Hawai‘i dominated the fourth set 30–13, closing out the tournament in emphatic fashion!

One of the most recognisable young stars in world volleyball was born in Kyoto on September 2, 2001.
Ran Takahashi emerged from Japan’s new generation as one of the country’s most exciting outside hitters. He played for Japan at the highest international level and developed his club career in Italy, becoming one of the most popular Japanese players among European fans as well.

Filipina opposite Michele Gumabao was born on this day in 1992.
A three-time UAAP champion with De La Salle University, she became one of the best-known personalities in Philippine volleyball. She also successfully crossed over into the world of beauty pageants, winning Binibining Pilipinas Globe 2018, while continuing her professional volleyball career.
That combination of elite sport and pageantry makes her one of the more unusual personalities on today’s list.

Polish setter Danuta Kordaczuk-Wagner was born in Warsaw on September 2, 1939 — just two days after the outbreak of World War II in Europe.
She went on to become one of Poland’s leading players of the 1950s and 1960s, earning 164 caps for the national team and winning a bronze medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, as well as medals at the World Championship and European Championship.
The coincidence of her birth date and the beginning of one of the darkest periods in European history makes her biography particularly striking.

But September 2 is also a date of remembrance: Brazilian beach volleyball player Paulo Roberto “Paulão” Moreira da Costa died on September 2, 2025, aged 56.
Paulão was part of Brazil’s strong beach volleyball generation of the 1990s and won a bronze medal at the 1997 World Championships in Los Angeles, alongside Paulo Emilio Silva. He later remained involved in the sport and was also influential in the development of beach volleyball in Chile.
His death was a sad reminder of a generation that helped establish Brazil as the great power of international beach volleyball.

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And now a good fresh news from Brazil: Brazilian veteran setter Raphael Vieira de Oliveira has interrupted his retirement to join Sada Cruzeiro at the beginning of the 2026/27 season, stepping in as the club deals with the absence of Matheus Brasília, currently with the Brazilian national team, and Gustavo, who is sidelined through injury.

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The Dutch Volleyball Federation has extended head coach Joel Banks’ contract for another two years. The English coach, now entering his second season in charge of the Oranje, will continue the development project aimed at building the next generation of the Dutch men’s national team after leading them to the final of the latest European Golden League.

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Japan’s SV.League will play official matches outside the country for the first time. Bangkok will host the women’s games on October 10 and 11, 2026, followed by the men’s matches on January 23 and 24, 2027, as part of an initiative designed to strengthen the league’s expansion across Southeast Asia.

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The war of nerves has begun!
2026 Women’s European Championship has already produced its first off-court battle.
Serbia coach Zoran Terzić took aim at Italy, arguing that the reigning Olympic and World champions are being overrated, have benefited from some luck and are nowhere near the great Italian teams of the past. He even suggested that most people outside volleyball would struggle to name Italy’s outside hitters, before adding that he hoped Serbia would be the team to “dethrone” them.
Julio Velasco’s response was typically calm — and typically sharp. “Honestly, I don’t care what he said,” Italy’s coach replied, dismissing the comments as an attempt to provoke his players. “We don’t even listen to our mothers when they tell us to win, let alone what other people tell us.”
Terzić also questioned Türkiye’s reliance on naturalised players. Whether it is strategy, rivalry or simply a little mind game, one thing is certain: the European Championship has already become much more interesting!

Meanwhile, the Women’s African Championship has confirmed its semifinal line-up: Rwanda will face Egypt, while Cameroon will take on Kenya on Wednesday, September 3, in Nairobi. The final, scheduled for the following day, will also award the qualification ticket to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

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