On this day..
Eurovolley 2026, Amarcord and volleyball birthdays, Michael Bright, CAVB Men’s African Nations Championship, Milano and Chaumont.
Welcome to the 91th episode of VolleyBar, the first-ever daily column created to bring the day’s main volleyball news together in one place.
For the first time since 2017, Belgium is back in the Top 8! The Belgian squad secured their spot in the Quarterfinals after battling past Czechia in a hard-fought four-set victory at the Men’s European Volleyball Championship: 20:25, 26:24, 25:14, 25:15.
Slovenia is the final team to advance! The Slovenian squad secured their spot in the Quarterfinals with a commanding straight-sets sweep over Serbia in the Round of 16: 25:14, 25:13, 25:22.
The Round of 16 has concluded, and here is how the brackets shake out for the Quarterfinals:
🇮🇹 Italy vs. Finland 🇫🇮
🇫🇷 France vs. Romania 🇷🇴
🇧🇪 Belgium vs. Slovenia 🇸🇮
🇵🇱 Poland vs. Germany 🇩🇪
Who are your picks to advance to the Final Four?
The official CEV Enel EuroVolley Fan Zone has opened in Milan’s Piazza del Duomo as the city prepares to host the tournament’s closing stages.
Running from 21 to 26 September, with daily opening hours of 10:00 to 20:00, the Fan Zone features a full-size volleyball court with a grandstand, a dedicated Volley area for children, sitting volleyball exhibitions and an immersive installation celebrating the Italian national team.
The semi-finals and finals will take place at the Unipol Forum in Assago on 25 and 26 September.
Recall that you can read all EuroVolley news directly here, while calendar with all games, results and gallery updated every day is here.
The 30th edition of the Women’s European Volleyball Championship began on September 22, 2017, co-hosted by Azerbaijan and Georgia.
The opening day immediately produced a memorable five-set match: Russia defeated Ukraine 3–2 (25:18, 20:25, 25:23, 23:25, 15:13) in Baku. Russia entered the tournament as the two-time defending European champion, having won in 2013 and 2015.
In Ganja, Serbia defeated the Czech Republic 3–0, while the Netherlands also opened Pool D with a victory.
Serbia eventually won the title, defeating the Netherlands in the final. Turkey claimed the bronze medal after beating Azerbaijan, while Tijana Bošković was named tournament MVP.
On September 22, 2020, the CEV Champions League returned after a break of more than six months caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The men’s competition restarted with Stroitel Minsk vs Jastrzębski Węgiel, won 0–3 by the Polish side (25:27, 24:26, 14:25). On the women’s side, Savino Del Bene Scandicci opened the new Champions League season by beating Tent Obrenovac 3–0.
The XLIII CEV General Assembly took place in Arnhem on September 22, 2022.
The gathering included discussions about the development of European volleyball and the organisation’s future projects.
On September 22, 2024, Sir Susa Vim Perugia won the Italian Supercoppa in Florence, defeating Itas Trentino 3–2 (18:25, 25:19, 15:25, 25:17, 15:9)
in a dramatic five-set final at Palazzo Wanny.
But there is more: On September 22, 1996 the Italian Men’s Super Cup was officially born! The inaugural edition featured Alpitour Traco Cuneo, winners of the Italian Cup, and Sisley Treviso, Italian champion. Cuneo, under the command of legendary head coach Silvano Prandi won 3-1 with the partials of 15:12, 15:7, 11:15 and 15:11, becoming the first club to inscribe its name in the golden book of the trophy. And now, thirty years later, that game remains the opening act of a competition that has become a traditional appointment of the Italian volleyball!
On September 22, 2025, the men’s FIVB Volleyball World Championship in the Philippines was in its knockout phase. The round-of-16 matches began on September 20, following the conclusion of the preliminary round.
The tournament featured the world’s leading national teams, including Poland, France, Italy and Türkiye. The official Volleyball World coverage documented the matchups and the road towards the world title.
Tomasz Wójtowicz was born in Lublin on September 22, 1953 and became one of the central figures of Poland’s great volleyball generation of the 1970s. He won the 1974 World Championship and the 1976 Olympic gold medal, playing 325 matches for Poland between 1973 and 1984. He was also one of the pioneers of attacking from the back row, an unusual technique at the time.
He later continued his career in Italy, playing for clubs including Santal Parma, Granarolo Ferrara and Famila Città di Castello. He was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2002.
He died on October 24, 2022, aged 69.
Eda Erdem Dündar, one of the most recognisable figures in Turkish volleyball, was born in Istanbul on September 22, 1987.
The legendary middle blocker has spent most of her professional career with Fenerbahçe, winning the CEV Champions League in 2012 and the FIVB Club World Championship in 2010. She has also been a central figure in the Turkish national team for many years. 
American middle blocker Haleigh Washington was born on September 22, 1995.
She won the NCAA championship with Penn State in 2014 and later became part of the United States women’s national team. She won Olympic gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games, held in 2021, and has also played in Italy, including for Savino Del Bene Scandicci. 
Canadian beach volleyball player Sophie Bukovec was born in Toronto on September 22, 1995 too.
She won the silver medal at the 2022 Beach Volleyball World Championships alongside Brandie Wilkerson. She later partnered with Sarah Pavan and Heather Bansley during different stages of her career.
Michael Bright, a member of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame, died on September 22, 2017. He was one of the dominant American players of the 1960s and early 1970s.
He represented the United States at the 1960 World Championship, won silver at the 1963 Pan American Games, and played at three Olympic Games: Tokyo 1964, Mexico City 1968 and the 1972 U.S. Olympic qualifying team. He was also an exceptional beach player, winning the Manhattan Beach Open five consecutive times. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993.
Tunisia brings the heat in front of the home crowd and completely shuts down Rwanda in a dominant straight-sets sweep to punch their ticket to the CAVB Men’s African Nations Championship Semifinals: 25:13, 25:18, 25:18.
Also Cameroon has secured their spot in the Final Four, after outlasting Ghana in an absolute five-set thriller to advance to the Semifinals: 25:21, 19:25, 23:25, 25:23, 16:14.
Algeria pulled off a massive upset dethroning defending champions Egypt in a thrilling five-set Quarterfinal battle: 25:17, 20:25, 19:25, 25:23, 15:13, while Morocco also book semifinal ticket with a tie break win over Nigeria.
Semifinals are tomorrow.
In Italy, Allianz Milano, are already preparing for the return of several international players. The club announced a fan event in Piazza Duomo for tomorrow, September 23, with players and staff meeting supporters during the EuroVolley fan zone. Among the players expected back after the national-team competition is Bulgarian outside hitter Georgi Tatarov, while Milano’s wider squad continues its preparation for the SuperLega season, while in France Shay Liberman joined his new club Chaumont after his international season with Israel National Team.
___________________
👀|QUICK LINKS
• VolleyBAR 📝🏐
• Multimedia
• Facebook
• Instagram
___________________