VolleyBar84# : Thursday September 10, 2026

On this day..
Eurovolley 2026, R U Ok? Day, Amarcord and volleyball birthdays and AVC Men’s Volleyball Continental Championship

Welcome to 84th episode of VolleyBar!
Hosts Bulgaria have opened their Men’s European Volleyball Championship campaign with a dominant straight-sets victory! Playing in front of a passionate home crowd in Sofia, they swept North Macedonia to secure their first win of the tournament: 25:17, 25:19, 25:18.
Latvia (World No. 51) has kicked off their EuroVolley campaign with a massive statement, taking down host nation Romania (World No. 35) on their home soil! The Latvian squad powered through a thrilling four-set battle in Cluj-Napoca to open the tournament strong: 26:24, 18:25, 25:21, 26:24.
You can read all EuroVolley news directly here, while calendar with all games, results and gallery updated every day is here.

Today is also second Thursday of September, so it is R U Ok? Day.
Extending genuine care, ensuring well-being, and fostering connections through thoughtful moments of empathy and support.
In an age when emotional insecurity and social isolation can be huge challenges, this day acts as a reminder to check in with friends, family members, co-workers, neighbors and other people with the purpose of promoting community cohesiveness and helping to battle issues with mental health.
The inaugural R U OK? Day was held in 2009, the same year that the R U OK? organization was formed in Australia through founder Gavin Larkin.
He understands first hand the impact mental health issues can have on a family, as his father died by suicide in 1996.
More than a decade later, he felt compelled to work to help others, promoting mental health initiatives and establishing the slogan behind the day: “R U OK? – a conversation can change a life.”
Listed as a Harm Prevention Charity, R U OK? works in collaboration with many different mental health professionals including those who specific to suicide prevention, as well as government agencies, corporate leaders, educational institutions, community groups, student groups and many more.

But now a little bit volleyball memories!

Seventy-seven years ago, the first Men’s Volleyball World Championship in history got underway in the Czechoslovak capital of Prague. The tournament, contested by ten national teams, concluded on September 18, with the Soviet Union crowned champions ahead of Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria.

On September 10, 2022, Italy defeated Slovenia 3–0 (25:21, 25:22, 25:21) in Katowice to reach the men’s World Championship final.
Daniele Lavia led Italy with 15 points, while Yuri Romanò added 12 and Alessandro Michieletto nine. Slovenia, playing in front of a huge home-region following, could not repeat their quarterfinal comeback against Ukraine and saw their dream of reaching a first World Championship final end in three sets. The victory sent Italy into their first men’s World Championship final since 1998. The Azzurri would go on to beat Poland 3–1 the following day in Katowice, winning their fourth world title and their first since 1998.
It was also the beginning of one of the most remarkable chapters of this Italian generation: World champions in 2022, European champions in 2021 and 2023, and Olympic champions in Paris 2024.

The other semifinal in Katowice that evening was every bit as dramatic.
Poland defeated Brazil 3–2 (23:25, 25:18, 25:20, 21:25, 15:12) to reach the World Championship final on home soil.
Brazil twice fought back from behind, forcing a deciding set, but Poland held their nerve in the fifth.
The result set up an extraordinary final: Poland vs Italy, a repeat of the 2014 World Championship final — when Poland had also beaten Italy on home soil.
This time, however, Italy would have the last word.

September 10, 1997 marked the opening of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Los Angeles, staged from September 10–13.
The tournament featured both men’s and women’s competitions and was part of the rapidly expanding international beach-volleyball circuit of the 1990s.
The women’s title eventually went to Sandra Pires and Jackie Silva of Brazil, who defeated Lisa Arce and Holly McPeak of the United States in a dramatic three-set final.
For our purposes, this is worth remembering because it belongs to the period when beach volleyball was transforming from a niche discipline into a genuinely global sport — and just a few years later it would become one of the centrepieces of the Olympic programme.

There is also a very nice recent anniversary.
On September 9, 2020, Eczacıbaşı VitrA Istanbul defeated VakıfBank to win the Turkish Women’s Champions Cup, with the FIVB reporting the result on September 10.
It was particularly significant because it marked the return of top-level volleyball in Türkiye after the long interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Eczacıbaşı won the trophy for the third consecutive year, defeating their great Istanbul rivals in the Burhan Felek Volleyball Hall.

Reinder Nummerdor was born on September 10, 1976, in IJsselmuiden, the Netherlands, and turns 50 in 2026. His remarkable career spanned two disciplines and five consecutive Olympic Games: Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 in indoor volleyball, followed by Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016 in beach volleyball, with fourth place in London representing his best Olympic result.
An indoor European champion in 1997, he later formed a highly successful partnership with Richard Schuil, winning three consecutive European titles on the sand between 2008 and 2010. Teaming up with Christiaan Varenhorst, he went on to claim the silver medal at the 2015 World Championship. Before switching to beach volleyball, he had also played in Italy’s Serie A with Montichiari, Ferrara and Milano.

Thomas “Tom” Haine died on September 10, 1994, aged 61.
He was one of the leading American volleyball players of his generation. He represented the United States at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, captained the American team there, and was an important member of the US squads at the 1963 and 1967 Pan American Games.
His achievements were not limited to indoor volleyball: Haine was also a hugely successful beach-volleyball player in Hawaii, winning the state indoor and outdoor doubles championships 12 times and being selected as an All-American at the USVBA Nationals an extraordinary 18 times.
He was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1991.
That’s a very nice historical death anniversary because he represents something increasingly rare: a top-level indoor player who was also a major figure in the early American beach-volleyball scene.

And now we back to the present, with the 2019 silver medalists officially back in the Top 4! Australia has advanced to the semifinals of the AVC Men’s Volleyball Continental Championship after delivering a huge straight-sets victory over a previously undefeated Thailand squad: 25:22, 26:24, 25:19.
Also South Korea have officially booked their place in the Final Four.
After dropping the opening set, Korea mounted an incredible comeback to defeat China in a thrilling four-set battle, 17:25, 25:21, 25:22 and 29:27.
This marks Korea’s first victory over China’s Team A since the 2018 Men’s VNL!

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