VolleyBar85# : Friday September 11, 2026

On this day..
Eurovolley 2026, Amarcord and volleyball birthdays, Chaumont, Francis Laguna, 2026 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship and AVC Men’s Volleyball Continental Championship

Welcome to 85th episode of VolleyBar!
Thanks God the last one of the week before a well-deserved weekend break.

Yesterday CEV Enel Eurovolley 2026 officially started with games in every Pools in Italy, Bulgaria, Finland and Romania.
You can read all EuroVolley news directly here, while calendar with all games, results and gallery updated every day is here.

On September 11, 2005, Italy became European champions in front of their home crowd at Rome’s PalaLottomatica, defeating Russia 3–2 in a dramatic final.
The Azzurri, coached by Gian Paolo Montali, prevailed in five sets to claim their sixth men’s European Championship title, adding another chapter to one of the greatest eras in Italian volleyball. The final followed an equally dramatic semifinal the previous evening, when Italy had beaten Serbia and Montenegro 3–2.
The team included names such as Alessandro Fei, Luigi Mastrangelo, Mirko Corsano, Alberto Cisolla, Cristian Savani, Valerio Vermiglio and Luca Tencati. Serbia and Montenegro took bronze after beating Spain 3–0 in the bronze-medal match.

Another fascinating anniversary concerns Israel’s women’s national team.
On September 11, 2010, Israel defeated Belarus 3–1 at home in the EuroVolley qualification repechage, overturning the 3–2 defeat suffered in the first leg.
The victory secured Israel’s qualification for the 2011 European Championship, ending a remarkable 39-year absence from the continental tournament. Israel had last appeared at the European Championship in 1967.
It remains one of the most significant moments in the modern history of Israeli volleyball.

At the 2011 Men’s European Championship, September 11 produced one of those matches that deserve to be remembered simply because of the drama.
In Innsbruck, Belgium defeated France 3–2 in a match in which the CEV report described the game as a story worthy of an Alfred Hitchcock screenplay. The match featured 23 set points, while Earvin Ngapeth led France with 23 points and Sam Deroo’s Belgium side eventually prevailed.
Ngapeth was already making his mark on the European stage, years before becoming one of the defining players of his generation.

Also at EuroVolley 2011, Bulgaria defeated Poland 3–1 in front of 9,250 spectators at Prague’s O2 Arena. Poland had the support of a huge travelling crowd, but Bulgaria produced the upset. Bartosz Kurek and Michał Kubiak both scored 19 points for Poland, but it wasn’t enough.

And we can’t leave this one out.
On September 11, 2022, Italy defeated Poland 3–1 in Katowice to win the men’s World Championship, ending a 24-year wait for their fourth world title.
Poland took the opening set 25–22, but Italy responded by winning the next three 25–21, 25–18 and 25–20. The title was Italy’s fourth World Championship gold, following the victories of 1990, 1994 and 1998.
It was also a historic tournament for Simone Giannelli, who was named MVP, as Italy’s young generation finally conquered the world.

Before the final in Katowice, Brazil defeated Slovenia 3–1 to win the bronze medal.
The result gave Brazil their sixth consecutive World Championship podium, an extraordinary streak that began with their 2002 world title. Their previous five appearances had produced three golds and two silvers before the bronze in 2022.
For Slovenia, it was still their best-ever men’s World Championship campaign at that point, finishing fourth.

A more recent entry, and one that fits perfectly into our European Championship archive, on September 11, 2023, Slovenia defeated Ukraine 3–1 (25:17, 31:29, 21:25, 25:23) in Varna to reach the EuroVolley semifinals.
France also advanced that evening, beating Romania 3–0.
Slovenia would eventually finish fourth after losing the semifinal to Poland and the bronze-medal match to Italy.

The Dominican outside hitter/opposite Brayelin Martínez was born on this day in Santo Domingo in 1996 and became one of the most recognisable players of her generation.
She was already appearing on the international scene as a teenager and competed at the 2014 World Championship, the 2011 and 2015 World Cups, and multiple Pan American competitions. With the Dominican youth teams, she won gold at the 2015 U20 World Championship, while with the senior team she collected major international medals and titles.
At 2.01 m, she became one of the defining attacking forces of the Dominican Republic’s golden generation.

American middle blocker Cursty Jackson was born on September 11, 1990.
She was part of the United States team that won the 2013 World Grand Prix, the 2013 World Grand Champions Cup and gold at the 2015 Pan American Games. She also played professionally in Europe, including for Galatasaray.
After her playing career, she moved into coaching and is now part of the Long Beach State women’s volleyball staff.

Canadian opposite Tabitha “Tabi” Love was born on September 11, 1991.
She played college volleyball at Minnesota before transferring to UCLA, where she was part of the 2011 NCAA championship-winning Bruins team. She also represented Canada internationally and played professionally in Puerto Rico, Poland and Azerbaijan.

Back to they present, in France, Chaumont VB 52 have made an unexpected change to their roster just days before the start of the new season, with American libero Kyle Dagostino and the French club agreeing not to begin the campaign together. A finnish libero will replace him.

Staying in France, the volleyball community in Montpellier is mourning the passing of Francis Laguna, a former international referee who devoted a large part of his life to the sport he loved.
Francis wore many hats throughout the years – player, referee and volunteer – always giving his time and energy to volleyball with passion, generosity and remarkable dedication, both in Montpellier and across French volleyball.
For many years, he was a familiar and valued presence around the club, one of those people who rarely seek the spotlight but whose availability, kindness and commitment quietly become an essential part of a club’s life.
Across different generations, Francis shared his love for volleyball with those around him and left a lasting mark on everyone fortunate enough to have known and worked alongside him.
He will be remembered not only for his contribution to the sport, but also for the person he was: a passionate volunteer who gave so much of himself to the volleyball community.
Thoughts are with his family, his loved ones and all his friends throughout the volleyball world.

The official pools for the 2026 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship in the Silesian Region of Poland have been announced!

Here’s how the eight qualified teams are grouped:

POOL A
• Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie (Poland)
• Vôlei Renata (Brazil)
• Ziraat Bankkart (Türkiye)
• Foolad Sirjan Iranian (Iran)

POOL B
• Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia (Italy)
• Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi (Indonesia)
• Al Ahly SC (Egypt)
• Sada Cruzeiro (Brazil)

The tournament is scheduled for December 15–20, 2026, in Poland.

Iran has officially punched their ticket to the Final Four of the AVC Men’s Volleyball Continental Championship!
The reigning silver medalists defeated Chinese Taipei in four sets: 25:19, 25:19, 21:25, 25:18.
The victory keeps Iran’s LA 2028 Olympic qualification hopes alive as they advance to the knockout stage, where they will face Australia.
Japan has officially advanced to the semifinals too! The defending champions comfortably swept past India in straight sets, moving one step closer to securing that coveted LA 2028 Olympic berth.
Japan will face South Korea in a massive showdown for a spot in the finals: 25:17, 25:15, 25:19.
The Final Four of the AVC Men’s Continental Championship is officially set:
September 12, 2026
🇮🇷 IRAN vs. 🇦🇺 AUSTRALIA
🇯🇵 JAPAN vs. 🇰🇷 KOREA

Who will advance to the championship match and take one step closer to continental glory?

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