VolleyBar94# : Friday September 25, 2026

On this day…
EuroVolley 2026, amarcord and volleyball birthdays, Vladimir “Braco” Janković, Vero Volley Monza and Africa

Welcome to the 93th episode of VolleyBar, the first-ever daily column created to bring the day’s main volleyball news together in one place. Today it’s Friday, so this is the last weekly episode after a well-deserved weekend break!

Today is the big one for CEV EuroVolley 2026. The semifinals are being played at the Unipol Forum in Assago, with the final four finally reunited in Italy after the tournament was staged across four countries.
At 17:00 local time Slovenia faced Poland, followed at 21:00 by Finland against France. The winners advance to Saturday’s gold-medal match, while the losers will meet for bronze. The European champions will also secure the men’s European qualification place for the LA28 Olympic Games.
The semifinal line-up is particularly interesting because it includes Poland, the defending European champions and world No. 1, alongside Slovenia, France and Finland. Poland are appearing in their fourth consecutive European Championship semifinal, while Finland have reached the last four for only the second time in their history.
Finland’s presence is the result of one of the biggest stories of the tournament: their dramatic 3–2 quarterfinal victory over hosts Italy in Turin on September 23. Slovenia also eliminated Belgium 3–1 that evening.
Recall that you can read all EuroVolley news directly here, while calendar with all games, results and gallery updated every day is here.

September 25, 2000 was a huge day for Olympic beach volleyball.
Australia’s Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst won the women’s bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics, defeating Brazil’s Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede in the bronze-medal match.
The gold medal would follow on September 26 in the men’s tournament, but September 25 is particularly remembered for Cook and Pottharst becoming the first Australian women to win an Olympic beach volleyball medal on home sand.
The date is also recorded by the FIVB as one of the World Tour’s major historical gold-medal dates.

On September 25, 2004, Brazil’s Ana Paula Henkel and Sandra Pires won the FIVB World Tour Rio Open.
It was the fifth and final FIVB World Tour title for the partnership. The tournament was particularly significant because it came only weeks after the Athens Olympic Games, where Ana Paula had competed with Leila Barros.

September 25, 2013 produced a memorable Italian quarterfinal at the men’s European Championship.
In Aarhus, Italy came from one set down to beat Finland 3–1: 23:25, 25:20, 25:22 and 25:22.
Finland won the opening set, but Italy progressively took control and booked a semifinal against Bulgaria in Copenhagen.
The match is particularly interesting in retrospect because Finland were already showing the qualities that have repeatedly made them a difficult opponent for Europe’s traditional powers.

Another excellent September 25 anniversary comes from the 2017 Women’s EuroVolley.
Turkey defeated Ukraine 3–1 (25:20, 25:19, 20:25, 25:23) in Baku to finish third in Pool C and stay alive in the tournament.
Earlier that day, Russia had survived a remarkable five-set battle against Bulgaria, winning 21:25, 25:20, 23:25, 25:21, 15:13 to finish the pool phase undefeated.
Turkey’s reward was a playoff against Poland for a place in the quarterfinals.

One of the strongest Italian anniversaries, on September 25, 2022, Italy won the CEV U20 European Championship in Montesilvano.
The hosts defeated Poland 3–2 in a dramatic final: 25:19, 25:19, 24:26, 17:25, 15:6.
Italy had led 2–0 before Poland forced the match into a deciding set, but the hosts dominated the tiebreak 15–6 to claim the European title.
Alessandro Bovolenta was named MVP.

Exactly one year ago today, the 2025 Men’s World Championship produced one of the biggest surprises in recent international volleyball.
Czechia reached the World Championship semifinals for the first time since 1970!
Their run was one of the stories of the tournament, and on September 25 the FIVB published a feature centred on Patrik Indra, who had emerged as one of the faces of the Czech fairy tale.
On the same day, Bulgaria defeated the United States to reach the semifinals, meaning that the 2025 World Championship final four consisted of Italy, Bulgaria, Poland and Czechia.
That makes September 25, 2025 particularly relevant when looking at the current European scene: one year later, Poland are again in a major championship semifinal, while Italy, Bulgaria and Czechia are all out of EuroVolley 2026!

American opposite Vaafuti Tavana, commonly known as Futi Tavana, was born on September 25, 1987.
The Hawaii-born player represented the United States internationally and also had a European club career, including a spell in Italy’s Serie A1. He subsequently played in Indonesia and elsewhere.
His international career included the 2015 World League with the United States.

But there is also a particularly nice thread running through the September 25 archive:

Italy–Finland appears again and again.
• 2013: Italy beat Finland 3–1 in the EuroVolley quarterfinals.
• 2026: Finland eliminated Italy 3–2 in the EuroVolley quarterfinals, reaching the Final Four.

Thirteen years apart, the same European Championship stage produced the opposite result!

Vladimir “Braco” Janković, one of the major figures in Croatian and Yugoslav volleyball, died on September 25, 2025, aged 84.
Born in Vukovar in 1941, he represented Yugoslavia 135 times, winning gold at the 1967 Mediterranean Games.
His influence became even greater after his playing career. As a coach, he worked with Mladost Zagreb, Modena, Padova and Hot Volleys Wien, and coached the national teams of Yugoslavia, Croatia and Slovenia.
One of the highlights of his coaching career came with Modena, whom he guided to European Champions Cup glory.
He was also a professor of kinesiology and an educator who influenced generations of players and coaches. His death therefore represents the loss not simply of a former international player, but of one of the important figures connecting the Yugoslav, Croatian, Slovenian and Italian volleyball worlds.

With the men’s national team eliminated from EuroVolley, Italian clubs are now moving back into focus.
The most important national-team-related development is the transition from EuroVolley back to the SuperLega calendar. The domestic season is still in its pre-season phase, with clubs completing their final preparation matches before the championship begins.
Andrew Rowan has undergone surgery on his right thumb after suffering a fracture while on international duty with the USA national team at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship.
The Vero Volley Monza setter underwent surgery in the United States on Tuesday, September 22, with the procedure performed by Dr Mark Halikis, a specialist hand surgeon. He will undergo a medical examination next week before travelling to Italy, where he will continue his rehabilitation programme as he works towards a return to full activity.
His return to competition is currently expected towards the end of November.
Given the nature of the injury and the expected recovery timeline, Vero Volley Monza are also assessing the possibility of returning to the transfer market to strengthen their setting department while Rowan remains sidelined.

In Poland, the national team remains at the centre.
They enter the semifinal against Slovenia as defending European champions, world No. 1 and the only team from the 2025 World Championship podium that has remained in contention at EuroVolley 2026.
A victory would send them into another European Championship final and keep alive their attempt to defend the title won in Rome in 2023.

France enter the other semifinal against Finland as reigning Olympic champions.
They reached the semifinals after defeating Romania 3–0 in Sofia, avenging their pool-stage defeat against the same opponents. It is France’s first EuroVolley semifinal since 2023 and another opportunity for Andrea Giani’s side to add a continental medal to their Olympic success.

In Africa, Tunisia and Cameroon will contest the 2026 African Championship final, with the continental title and a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games at stake. Both finalists have also qualified for the 2027 World Championship in Poland after winning their semi-finals in four sets.
Tunisia, seeking a 12th African title, beat Morocco 3-1, while Cameroon defeated Algeria with the same result.
Today’s bronze-medal match between Morocco and Algeria will decide the tournament’s third World Championship place, while Tunisia and Cameroon will then meet in the final at 16.00 local time in Tunis.
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