VolleyBar79# : Thursday September 3, 2026

On this day..
Amarcord and volleyball birthdays, news from France, Earvin Ngapeth, Narbonne, Women African Championship and EuroVolleyW

Welcome to 79th episode of VolleyBar!

At the 2002 FIVB Women’s World Championship in Germany, on this day, Puerto Rico continued an extraordinary first appearance on the global stage with another important victory, defeating Argentina 3–2. The match was part of a fascinating opening phase in which Puerto Rico immediately showed that its debut was anything but ceremonial.

One of the most interesting beach volleyball milestones of September 3 came in 2006, when China’s Tian Jia and Wang Jie won the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event in Warsaw. In the all-Chinese final they defeated Xue Chen and Zhang Xi 22–20, 21–17. It was particularly significant because the two pairs had already met in the Shanghai final earlier that season, making Warsaw another chapter in one of the major rivalries of Chinese beach volleyball at the time.

At the 2014 Men’s World Championship in Poland, Canada came from 1–2 down to defeat Bulgaria 3–2, winning 17:25, 25:17, 20:25, 26:24, 15:8. Gavin Schmitt led Canada with 22 points, while Tsvetan Sokolov also scored 22 for Bulgaria. The result gave Canada two valuable points in Pool C and proved decisive in a very tight group.
On the same day, Germany defeated Cuba 3–0 (25:16, 25:21, 25:19) in Pool B, while hosts Poland beat Australia 3–0 (25:17, 25:19, 25:22).

The 2014 CEV Men’s U20 European Championship also produced some excellent drama on September 3. France defeated Italy 3–2 (12:25, 25:22, 20:25, 25:22, 15:9), while Serbia overcame Slovakia in another five-setter. Russia, meanwhile, swept Bulgaria 3–0 (25:14, 25:19, 25:17).

September 3, 2022 was another important date for Italy. At the Men’s World Championship in Ljubljana, the European champions defeated Cuba 3–1 (25:21, 21:25, 26:24, 25:18) in the Round of 16 to reach the quarterfinals. Yuri Romanò was Italy’s top scorer with 14 points, while Cuba’s Jesús Herrera produced 23.
The same day, hosts Slovenia defeated Germany 3–1 (25:18, 25:19, 21:25, 25:22) in the other Ljubljana Round-of-16 match.

And this one is particularly fresh in our historical memory: on September 3, 2025, Japan defeated the Netherlands 3–2 (20:25, 25:20, 22:25, 25:22, 15:12) in the Women’s World Championship quarterfinals in Bangkok. Italy followed with a 3–0 victory over Poland (25:17, 25:21, 25:18).

But there is also a particularly good birthday celebrated today: the Slovenian outside hitter Tine Urnaut, born on September 3, 1988, who became one of the defining figures of Slovenia’s rise on the international scene. He has been part of Slovenia’s national team since 2006 and has collected three European Championship silver medals, in 2015, 2019 and 2021. CEV records also show his long career with clubs including Trentino, Modena, Zenit Saint Petersburg and Allianz Powervolley Milano.

The Finnish setter Mikko Esko was also born on September 3, 1978. He spent many years as one of the most recognisable figures in Finnish volleyball, representing the national team and playing professionally in Germany, Belgium, Italy, Russia and Turkey before returning to Finland.

The Russian outside hitter Yaroslav Podlesnykh was born in Pyatigorsk on September 3, 1994 and went on to become a member of the Russian national team, winning major domestic honours with Dynamo Moscow, including the Russian championship and CEV Cup.

A name worth remembering from Chinese women’s volleyball, Chen Jing was born on September 3, 1975, and represented China at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, as well as at the 2004 World Grand Prix.

Born in La Plata on September 3, 1956, Argentine coach Raul Lozano celebrates his 70th birthday today. His long and distinguished career in Italy reached one of its highest points with Sisley Treviso, where he won the Italian Super Cup in 2000 and the 2000–01 Serie A1 championship.
In 2005, he also made history by becoming the first foreign head coach of the Polish men’s national team. Just one year later, he led Poland to a remarkable silver medal at the 2006 World Championship in Japan. Poland reached the final in Tokyo, where Brazil prevailed 3–0, but the result still marked the country’s first World Championship medal in 32 years and the beginning of a new era of international success for Polish volleyball.

A genuinely important name from Soviet volleyball. Valery Kravchenko was part of the Soviet team that won Olympic gold at Mexico City 1968, then returned four years later in Munich to take bronze in 1972. He also won European Championship gold medals in 1967 and 1971 and a World Championship bronze in 1966. He died on September 3, 1996, aged 57.

And then there is Ed Chan, who deserves a special mention for anyone who works around volleyball photography and media. Co-publisher and photo editor of VolleyballMag. com, died in his sleep on September 3, 2021, aged 60, while in Chicago covering the AVP event. He was much more than a photographer: colleagues remembered him as a mentor, a passionate volleyball storyteller and an important figure in the American volleyball media community.

___________________

But now we back to the present.
As widely anticipated days ago, Poland’s ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle announced young French outside hitter Thomas Pujol, who joins the Polish club after reaching the French league final with Poitiers and winning gold at the Mediterranean Games with his national team.

Meanwhile, French champions Montpellier will begin the new season without captain Ezequiel Palacios. The Argentine underwent scheduled surgery on his arm, with his return expected around the time of the club’s European commitments in December.
In Paris, meanwhile, esports organisation Vitality is preparing an offer to acquire a stake in Paris Volley, the reigning French Cup winners.

Staying in France, head coach Marcelo Fronckowiak took advantage of his time in France while travelling with the Brazilian national team to pay a visit to Chaumont.

Meanwhile, legendary French star Earvin Ngapeth spoke about his return to Tours and his ambitions for the new season.
“I’m very happy to be here, where it all started. I was 17 the first time I played professionally in this arena, on this court. So I’m very happy, and there are a lot of emotions.”

He also reflected on his extended break from volleyball: “It had been more than ten years, since 2008 or 2009, that I hadn’t taken such a long break. It did me good. The great thing is that I missed volleyball. It had been a long time since I had actually missed it. This time, I missed the ball, so getting back with the team, being around the ball again and training feels really good. I’m very happy.”

As for Tours VB’s ambitions for the new season, Ngapeth has set the bar high: “To become French champions and win the French Cup… it’s almost an obligation. So those will definitely be the two main objectives. And then there’s European competition, with the Champions League.
We want to dream. We want to do something special and make a deep run in the Champions League.”

There is also an interesting behind-the-scenes detail coming from Narbonne:
“There’s a little more work involved because he wasn’t the one who built the team.”
That was the assessment of Narbonne manager Michel Mandrou when speaking about new Centurions head coach Patrick Duflos, who did not have a say in the construction of the squad for the upcoming season!

___________________

And now, a little international volleyball, starting with the women’s semi-finals of the African Championship.
• Kenya – Cameroon
• Rwanda – Egypt
The team that wins the competition will secure a ticket to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, Serbia swept past Greece in straight sets to become the first team to book a spot in the Final Four of the Women’s European Championship: 25:14, 25:20, 25:17.
Italy did the same, securing their spot in the Final Four with a hard-fought four-set victory over Sweden, 21:25, 26:24, 25:21, 25:23. Read more here.
Sweden showed plenty of resistance, but Italy managed to survive a 42-point performance from Isabelle Haak and close out the match in four sets!
Both games were played yesterday, today Poland – The Netherlands and Germany – Türkiye.
___________________

👀|QUICK LINKS
• VolleyBAR 📝🏐
• Multimedia
• Facebook
• Instagram

___________________