VolleyBar100# : Monday October 5, 2026

On this day…
100!!! Volleyball Birthdays, Amarcord, women volleyball, Prata di Pordenone, Chaumont and Asian Games 2030.

Welcome to the 100th episode of VolleyBar, the first one after our usual weekend break.
100. Perhaps the first truly important birthday for our EXCLUSIVE daily column, which you have surely noticed being reworked — or, more accurately, brutally copied — in several versions on the website of our Italian friends, already well known for publishing word-for-word translations of our articles, naturally without ever crediting the original source.
But now, as we publish the 100th episode, we can proudly say that our idea has been a success.
It all started after the Champions League Finals in Turin, when the idea for this daily column first came to us, and after those first attempts, it gradually found its own identity and, most importantly, its audience.
So thank you everybody for your daily support!

On this day, Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson turns 39.
She was born in London, Ontario, on October 5, 1987. Born to a Nigerian father and a Canadian mother, she grew up in the United States and became one of the finest middle blockers of her generation with the US national team. Her Stanford biography confirms the date of birth, while her international résumé is remarkable.

She won:
🥇 2014 World Championship
🥇 Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
🥈 London 2012 Olympic Games
🥉 Rio 2016 Olympic Games

She also won the 2010 World Grand Prix and the 2021 Volleyball Nations League, completing an extraordinary collection of international medals.
Her club career took her around the world, including Rabita Baku, Volero Zürich and Hisamitsu Springs, while she also spent a season with Dinamo Krasnodar.
She eventually retired from the US national team after the Tokyo Olympic cycle, leaving behind one of the strongest medal collections ever assembled by an American middle blocker.

And then there is another interesting birthday, especially for anyone following Asian volleyball.
Danai Sriwatcharamethakul, better known as “Coach Duan”, was born on October 5, 1970, in Thailand.
He has been one of the central figures in the development of Thailand’s women’s national team, having served as head coach during one of the country’s most successful modern periods. His career has included major international competitions and the development of a generation built around Thailand’s distinctive fast-tempo style.
He remains involved in the women’s game, with a club coaching role in Thailand for the 2026/27 season.

October 5, 2022 produced an important match at the FIVB Women’s World Championship in Poland and the Netherlands.
Playing in Łódź, Poland defeated the United States 3–0:
25:23, 25:18, 25:20.
Magdalena Stysiak led Poland with 19 points, while Kamila Witkowska and Olivia Różański added nine apiece. The victory was particularly important because it came immediately after Poland’s loss to Serbia in the second phase and put the hosts back on track in the race for the semifinals.
It was also a significant result because the United States were the defending Olympic champions, while Poland were playing the latter stages of a World Championship on home soil.

And on the same day, Türkiye defeated Canada 3–0 in Łódź:
25:22, 26:24, 28:26.
It was a much closer match than the straight-set score suggests, particularly the second and third sets.
Ebrar Karakurt scored 26 points, while Eda Erdem contributed nine and Hande Baladın eight. Canada’s Kiera Van Ryk led her side with 20 points.
There is a nice present-day connection here: four years later, Türkiye have gone from being one of the leading challengers at the 2022 World Championship to back-to-back European champions and LA28 qualifiers.

On October 5, 2018, Iran’s Bahman Salemi and Arash Vakili won the Bandar Torkaman Open.
It was the pair’s first and only FIVB World Tour victory.
It is a relatively obscure result compared with today’s indoor stories, but worth retaining because it gives the date a genuine international beach-volleyball entry rather than another routine indoor league match.

There is an important October 5 connection with the 2015 Women’s EuroVolley.
The championship had concluded the previous day, with Russia defeating Germany 3–0 in the final in Rotterdam, and October 5 was the day CEV published its major retrospective on Tatiana Kosheleva, who was named the tournament’s MVP.
It was Russia’s second consecutive European title, repeating their success from 2013. Kosheleva was again the dominant figure.

And for the countries we follow, the 2015 podium was:
🥇 Russia
🥈 Germany
🥉 Serbia

while Türkiye finished fourth.

On October 5, 2015, the European Sitting Volleyball Championship in Warendorf, Germany, reached its quarterfinal stage.
Germany defeated Azerbaijan 3–0 (25:13, 25:16, 27:25), while Russia beat the Netherlands by the same score.
The significance was bigger than simply reaching the semifinals: the tournament offered a potential route to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, making the following day’s Germany–Russia semifinal particularly important.
It is a nice reminder that October 5 also has a place in ParaVolley history, not just the mainstream indoor and beach game.

The 2020 U17 Women’s European Championship in Podgorica produced a rather unusual October 5: all five matches ended 3–0.
Türkiye and Italy maintained first and second place in their pool with straight-set wins over Slovakia and Montenegro respectively, while Slovenia defeated Bulgaria and Russia beat Serbia. Poland also recorded their first victory of the tournament against Romania.
The tournament eventually saw Russia retain the title, beating Türkiye in the final.
Not a headline historical event, but a good little entry if we want the calendar to cover youth volleyball too.

But now we back to the present.
The Turkish Sultanlar Ligi has just opened its 2026/27 season, and the first round immediately produced a remarkable number of close games.
Three matches went to a fifth set, while two teams came back from 0–2 down to win 3–2.
Among the players making a winning start were Bulgarian talents Alexandra Milanova and Iva Dudova. Milanova’s Afyon Belediyespor won away at Kuzeyboru 3–2 (25:22, 19:25, 25:23, 23:25, 15:13).
After the opening seven matches, Fenerbahçe sit top of the provisional standings.
This is particularly interesting after Türkiye’s extraordinary national-team summer: the Sultans of the Net are back-to-back European champions, and now their domestic championship is underway.
Türk Hava Yolları opened the season with a thrilling five-set comeback victory over Galatasaray, completing a reverse sweep after dropping the first two sets: 23:25, 19:25, 25:23, 25:22, 15:13.
İlbank secured its first win of the Sultanlar Ligi season, defeating Göztepe in four sets: 25:22, 25:22, 25:27, 25:17. Malwina Smarzek led all scorers with 27 points, while Zhuang Yushan finished with 22 points for Göztepe.
Fenerbahçe Medicana kicked off its Sultanlar Ligi campaign in dominant fashion, sweeping Manisa in the season opener: 25:12, 25:17, 25:14.
Arina Fedorovtseva and Ana Cristina both led the team with 14 points each.
Eczacıbaşı Peron Istanbul overcame a slow start to survive a thrilling five-set battle against Nilüfer Belediyespor in their opening match of the Sultanlar Ligi season, completing a dramatic reverse sweep: 20:25, 19:25, 25:18, 25:19, 15:12.
The defending champions are officially back in action! VakıfBank kicked off their Sultanlar Ligi campaign with a four-set victory over Beşiktaş in season opener: 25:16, 25:18, 23:25, 25:19.
Marina Markova led the charge for the defending champs, dropping a massive match-high 26 points to secure the 3-1 win and set the tone for the new season.

Polish domestic volleyball is also already underway. The TAURON I Liga schedule has a match today, October 5, with Będzin facing Bielsko-Biała.

The Italian women’s domestic season has already begun, with the opening round played on October 4.
Savino Del Bene Scandicci opened the campaign with a home fixture against Reale Mutua Fenera Chieri ’76 at Pala BigMat in Florence. Chieri ’survived a thrilling five-set battle to open their season with a win: 22:25, 25:23, 22:25, 25:22, 15:11. Chieri’s Németh Anett and Scandicci’s Kiera Van Ryk shared top-scoring honors with 25 points each.
Meanwhile, the 2026/27 calendar for Omag Consolini Volley began on October 4 against Megabox Vallefoglia.
Novara battled past UYBA in a thrilling five-setter to open their season with a victory: 22:25, 25:15, 25:19, 22:25, 15:12. Japanese national team standout Yukiko Wada officially made her highly anticipated Italian Serie A1 debut for UYBA Volley. Despite her team falling short, Wada put on a very solid offensive showcase. She finished the match with 14 points (all from attacks), converting on 34 attempts to register a highly efficient 41.18% attack rate.
A promising start in Italy for the Japanese star!
Defending champions Imoco Conegliano cruised past Cuneo in straight sets to open their 2026–27 campaign on a high note: 25:13, 25:16, 25:20.
Merit Adigwe and Zhu Ting both finished with 14 points, with Adigwe named MVP of the match.
Vero Volley Milano has officially kicked off their Italian Serie A1 campaign with a straight-sets victory over Il Bisonte Firenze in the season opener: 25:20, 25:22, 25:20.

Staying in Italy, newcomers Tinet Prata di Pordenone, after welcoming Nooa Marttila, as we already announced, defeated Belluno Volley in a hard-fought friendly match ended 3-2 (25:17, 22:25, 21:25, 25:20, 15:12) with 26 points from Klets 26, 17 from Bergmann 17 and 11 from D’Heer 11.

In France, Chaumont won the 2026 International Trophy at Palestra on Sunday, completing a perfect weekend with a 3-1 victory over Belgian champions Maaseik. After losing the opening set, Chaumont turned the match around by taking a dramatic second set 28-26, before controlling the third 25-20 and the fourth 25-19.
The tournament, a long-standing pre-season appointment for Chaumont, also brought an immediate reunion for Niklas Breilin, who joined the French side from Maaseik during the summer. With Paris Volley completing the three-team line-up, the weekend offered all three clubs an important final test before the start of their respective domestic seasons. For Chaumont, the trophy provided both a positive result and further confirmation of a squad still adapting to several changes ahead of the new campaign.

In Asia, the dynasty continues! The Iranian men’s national team has officially captured their 4th consecutive Asian Games Gold Medal after defeating host nation Japan in a thrilling four-set championship match: 28:26, 19:25, 25:21, 26:24, while Pakistan made history.
Japan concludes an incredible tournament run with the Silver Medal on home soil.

Doha 2030: the Asian Games are returning to Qatar!
Doha is officially locked in to host the 2030 Asian Games, bringing the continent’s most spectacular multi-sport event back to the city.
This marks a historic return, building on the incredible legacy of the spectacular 2006 Asian Games, an unforgettable event that firmly put Doha on the map as a world-class sporting hub. Now, 24 years later, they are preparing to raise the bar even higher!
But the excitement doesn’t just start in 2030!
Just one year prior, Qatar will make history on the volleyball court. The 2029 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship will be held in Doha, marking the first time the prestigious tournament has ever been hosted in the Middle East. Qatar will welcome 32 of the top international volleyball teams for an epic battle for the world title.
With back-to-back mega-events in 2029 and 2030, the next few years are going to be absolutely massive for Qatar volleyball.

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