On this day..
Eurovolley 2026, Amarcord and volleyball birthdays, NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship, Men’s South American Volleyball Championship and Italian pre-season
Welcome to the 89th episode of VolleyBar!
Thanks to the European Championship, we’ve gained a significant number of new readers. So, even though we’ve already reached Episode 89, let’s remember that VolleyBar is the first-ever daily column created to bring the day’s main volleyball news together in one place.
You’ll find our idea being blatantly copied by a particular Italian website. But it remains nothing more than a poor imitation—and most of the news they publish comes from us.
Either way, plagiarism apart, Pool Phase of Men’s European Volleyball Championship in Sofia and Cluj-Napoca is officially over.
More notable results of yesterday include world No. 28 Romania who pulled off a stunning reverse-sweep victory over World No. 7 France in a thrilling five-set battle: 16:25, 25:27, 25:20, 35:33, 15:12.
Despite the defeat, France remains on top of Pool D with a 4-1 record, while Romania takes the third spot at 3-2.
On the same Pool, world No. 50 Latvia has pulled off a massive upset! They stunned World No. 12 Türkiye in a hard-fought four-set battle to officially secure their spot in the Round of 16: 26:24, 25:23, 26:24, 25:16.
With this result, Türkiye concludes their tournament campaign, finishing in 5th place in Pool D with a 1-4 record.
In Pool B, Bulgaria defends their home court and gives the fans a night to remember, outlasting defending champions Poland in a massive 5-set war to close out the prelims: 20:25, 31:29, 25:23, 19:25, 20:18. Pool B finishes as an absolute bloodbath! Even with the defeat, Poland clings to the #1 seed (4-1, 13 pts), followed closely by Ukraine (4-1, 12 pts) and Bulgaria (4-1, 11 pts)!
Earlier, World Rank 61 North Macedonia concluded their EuroVolley campaign with a stunning straight-sets victory over rank 29 (and a yesterday absolutely disappointing) Israel: 25:21, 25:23, 25:22.
With Israel’s defeat, Portugal officially secures the final spot in Pool B to advance to the Round of 16!
Today Pool Phase will come into an end also in Italy and Finland.
Recall that you can read all EuroVolley news directly here, while calendar with all games, results and gallery updated every day is here.
September 17, 1988 marked the opening day of the men’s volleyball tournament at the Seoul Olympic Games. Twelve teams eventually competed in the competition, which ran until October 2. The Soviet Union, Bulgaria, the United States, Brazil and Italy were among the major contenders, while the USA arrived as defending Olympic champions after their historic victory in Los Angeles four years earlier.
The tournament would ultimately produce one of the most dramatic Olympic finals ever played: the United States defeated the Soviet Union 3–1 to retain the Olympic title.
Exactly twelve years later, September 17 2000 again became the opening date of an Olympic men’s volleyball tournament, this time in Sydney.
The competition featured 12 teams and ended on October 1. Italy entered Australia as one of the world’s dominant teams, having won three consecutive World Championships, but Olympic gold remained the one major title missing from their collection.
Italy eventually reached the semifinals, where Yugoslavia defeated them in straight sets, once again denying the Italians their first Olympic title.
September 17, 2005 was also the opening day of the Women’s European Championship in Croatia. Zagreb and Pula hosted the tournament, with the preliminary phase beginning on September 17 and the final scheduled for September 25.
Among the players on court that opening day was Elena Godina, then one of Russia’s leading outside hitters. The Russian star would later win the 2006 World Championship and had already collected Olympic silver in Sydney.
And there is a nice connection to today’s date: Godina herself was born on September 17, 1977!
On September 17, 2011, the men’s European Championship semifinals were played in Vienna. Italy defeated Poland 3–0, but the second semifinal became one of the great European Championship battles: Serbia beat Russia 3–2, with the sets ending 25:23, 17:25, 22:25, 33:31, 15:13.
The fourth set alone finished 33–31, before Serbia survived the deciding set 15–13. The victory sent Serbia into the final against Italy, where the Serbs eventually won 3–1 and claimed the European title.
It was also a particularly significant moment for Ivan Miljković and his generation: Serbia were chasing their first European crown since 2001, when the team had still competed under the Yugoslav name!
September 17, 2019 produced another memorable European Championship meeting between Italy and Bulgaria.
In Montpellier, Italy recovered from losing the opening set to beat Bulgaria 3–1 (22:25, 25:23, 25:21, 25:17).
The result guaranteed Italy at least second place in Pool A, while Bulgaria finished third in the group. Juantorena and Zaytsev were particularly important for Italy as the match progressed.
Interestingly, that match came exactly seven years before today’s Italy–Slovenia EuroVolley 2026 encounter in Modena — another September 17 featuring Italy at the European Championship!
One of the most decorated Italian middle blockers of her generation, Simona Gioli represented Italy at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and was part of the national team that won the European Championship in 2007 and 2009. She was born on September 17, 1977.
And yes — Gioli and Elena Godina were born on the exact same day and in the same year. One became an Italian great, the other a Russian international star! Russia’s outside hitter Elena Godina won Olympic silver in 2000 and the 2006 World Championship, and also competed at the 1996 and 2008 Olympics.
She was named best server at the 2006 World Championship.
The Russian opposite Pavel Kruglov, born September 17, 1985, spent much of his career with Dinamo Moscow and represented Russia internationally from 2005 to 2019.
A particularly interesting birthday for the ParaVolley section, the Iranian sitting-volleyball star Morteza Mehrzad was born on September 17, 1987 and became one of the defining players of Iran’s hugely successful national team. He won Paralympic gold in 2016, 2020 and 2024, as well as World Championship titles and Asian Para Games gold medals.
The Spanish beach-volleyball player Adrián Gavira also shares the date with Mehrzad, September 17, 1987. He represented Spain at the 2012 Olympics alongside Pablo Herrera.
The Serbian setter Mihajlo Mitić was born on this day in 1990 and was part of Serbia’s 2011 European Championship-winning generation.
September 17 also has a remarkable connection with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s sitting-volleyball history: on September 17, 1999, Bosnia and Herzegovina defeated Germany 3–0 in the final of the European Championship in Sarajevo, becoming European champions in sitting volleyball. The team had beaten Finland 3–0 in the semifinal two days earlier.
That victory is particularly meaningful in the history of Bosnian sport, coming only a few years after the war and helping establish the country as a major force in sitting volleyball.
And one final coincidence: the International Volleyball Hall of Fame is actually staging its inaugural “Clash of Champions” in Las Vegas today, September 17, 2026, bringing together organizations connected with the development and celebration of volleyball!
But now we back to the present, with USA who has successfully defended their title! They claimed their second consecutive NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship after outlasting host nation Canada in an epic five-set thriller: 25:19, 26:24, 25:27, 17:25, 15:13.
Congratulations, Team USA!
Earlier Cuba secured the bronze medal after defeating Dominican Republic in straight sets: 25:22, 25:19, 26:24.
With the victory, Cuba also officially qualified for the 2027 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Cup!
NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship 2026 — Individual Awards:
MVP: Erik Shoji (USA)
1st Best Spiker: Eric Loeppky (Canada)
2nd Best Spiker: Miguel Ángel López (Cuba)
1st Best Blocker: Alexis Wilson (Cuba)
2nd Best Blocker: Juan García (Mexico)
Best Setter: Christian Thondike (Cuba)
Best Opposite: Diego González (Mexico)
Best Digger: Enger Mieses (Dominican Republic)
Best Libero: Enger Mieses (Dominican Republic)
Best Receiver: Arnel Cabrera (Puerto Rico)
Best Server: Lionel McCarthy (Canada)
Best Scorer: Diego González (Mexico)
The defending champions Argentina secured their second victory (2-0) in the Men’s South American Volleyball Championship after defeating Colombia in four sets: 25:21, 25:18, 22:25, 25:23.
But now something about Italy.
The first indications arrive from the field for Sir Susa Scai Perugia, protagonist of the first of the five joint training sessions planned for the pre-season. The Block Devils hosted Virtus Volley Fano, a Serie A2 formation led by coach Marco Bonitta, in a test that ended in 2-2.
After more than a month since the resumption of preparation, Italian champions of everything have thus re-savered the rhythm of the match. Fano won the first partial 25-23, while the Perugia reacted by winning in the next two sets for 25-20 and 25-17. The Marches then closed the fourth set on 25-23, fixing the final result on 2-2.
2-2 also for Cisterna Volley against Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina in Porto San Giorgio.
The partials initially reward the hosts, who conquer the first set 25-21, before the reaction of coach Morato’s formation, capable of winning the second and third partial for 25-22 and 26-24. Grottazzolina then closes the test on 28-26 in the fourth set.
For Cisterna it was the first test a month after the start of the preparation. Absent Noah Duflos-Rossi, Amaranto and Shikun Peng, who will join the group in the coming days, in addition to Tommaso Barotto, stopped by a problem with his right hand. Coach Morato is also available to Bram Van den Dries, a Belgian opponent who played in Latina in the past and who has been added to the group these days to support the training sessions pending the completion of the roster.
First test pre-season also for Gas Sales Bluenergy Volley Piacenza, who celebrated a clean victory at PalabancaSport in front of a good number of spectators against EnergyTime Campobasso, a team participating in the Serie A3 championship, in the first joint training of the season.
Coach Dante Boninfante’s team won all four sets played, giving space to all the players available and collecting useful indications on the status of growth of the group.
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