VolleyBar101# : Tuesday October 6, 2026

On this day…
National Coaches Day, Volleyball Birthdays, Amarcord, Nicolás Lazo, transfers news and 2027 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup

Welcome to the Episode 101 of VolleyBar!

Did you know that October 6 is National Coaches Day?
This day is a well-deserved celebration recognizing coaches’ invaluable role in shaping athletes’ skills, character, and experiences across all sports.
From little league to professional teams, they teach the game, impart life lessons, and foster personal growth!
The beginning of celebrating National Coaches Day dates back to October of 1972, when President Richard Nixon recognized coaches’ profound impact on players. In a proclamation, he declared October 6 National Coaches Day, acknowledging coaches as “highly qualified teachers, in highly specialized fields.”
Anyone who might know a special coach, this is the perfect day to show some appreciation!

The most obvious birthday today is Justine Wong-Orantes, born on October 6, 1995, in Torrance, California.
The American libero is an Olympic champion, winning gold with the United States at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the first Olympic women’s volleyball gold in US history. She was also part of the US team that won the 2021 Volleyball Nations League and the 2017 World Grand Prix.
Her career has also taken her to Europe: she played professionally in Germany with Schweriner SC and VC Wiesbaden, and in France with Béziers Volley.
She is therefore a particularly good name for today’s list because she combines Olympic gold, the US national team and European club volleyball.

The other major birthday belongs to Bruno Schmidt, born in Brasília on October 6, 1986.
Together with Alison Cerutti he won:
• 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship
• 2016 Olympic Games in Rio
Their Olympic final against Italy’s Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai was one of the defining matches of the Rio tournament, with Brazil winning 2–0.
He was also named the FIVB World Tour’s Best Defensive Player four consecutive times, from 2013 through 2016, a remarkable indication of how highly regarded his all-round game was.
Today he turns 40.

A more unusual volleyball birthday, Maria Bertelli, born in Ashton-under-Lyne on October 6, 1977, is one of those athletes whose sporting career could almost make two separate On This Day entries.
Before becoming an international volleyball player, she played professional football, including for Wimbledon and Charlton Athletic.
She later switched her focus to volleyball and represented Great Britain at the London 2012 Olympics.
Her volleyball career included clubs in Belgium and Switzerland, including Volley Köniz, making her another interesting connection to the European club game.
She turns 49 today.

On October 6, 2020, the final four of the CEV U17 Women’s European Championship in Podgorica was confirmed.
Türkiye finished first in Pool I, winning all five of their matches, while Italy finished second with four victories.
In Pool II, Russia finished first and Serbia second.
That produced the semifinals:
• Türkiye vs Serbia
• Russia vs Italy
The tournament was particularly interesting because it contained several players who would subsequently emerge into senior international volleyball.
And Italy’s top scorer in the decisive pool match that day was Julia Ituma, who scored 18 points against Bulgaria.
Italy would eventually finish fourth at that U17 European Championship, while Türkiye won silver and Russia retained the title.

On October 6, 2002, Brazil’s Márcio Araújo and Benjamin Insfran won the Fortaleza Open on the FIVB World Tour.
It was the partnership’s third of eight World Tour victories.
Márcio Araújo would later become an Olympic medallist, winning silver at Beijing 2008 with Fábio Luiz.
So this wasn’t simply an isolated World Tour victory: it came during the rise of one of Brazil’s major beach-volleyball players of the 2000s.

Another Brazilian beach-volleyball entry comes exactly six years earlier.
On October 6, 1996, Roberto Lopes and Franco Neto won the Jakarta Open.
It was their 13th and final FIVB World Tour victory as a partnership.
That makes it a particularly neat anniversary: the date marks not simply another tournament victory but the final title of a partnership that had accumulated 13 World Tour wins.

One of the more interesting indoor matches took place on October 6, 2013, during European qualifying for the 2014 Women’s World Championship.
In Ra’anana, hosts Israel led Hungary 2–0, but Hungary completely turned the match around and won 3–2:
23:25, 24:26, 25:18, 25:20, 15:12.
The result ended Israel’s unbeaten run in the tournament.
It was ultimately not enough to alter the qualification picture — Israel, Hungary and Switzerland had already secured their continuation to the next phase — but it was a memorable reverse sweep nonetheless.

October 6, 1991 is also significant because it was the final day of the Women’s European Championship in Italy.
The tournament had been played from September 28 to October 6, with the final round in Rome.
The Soviet Union won the title, their extraordinary 13th European Championship, with Irina Ilchenko named MVP.
It is a particularly interesting date for your Italian audience because the championship was hosted entirely in Italy, with the final round taking place in Rome.
The Soviet women’s team were still at the height of their historical dominance — although, of course, the Soviet Union itself would cease to exist only a few months later.

October 6, 2017 is also worth remembering because CEV published a substantial retrospective with Eda Erdem Dündar after Türkiye’s bronze-medal finish at the Women’s EuroVolley in Baku.
Türkiye had entered the tournament badly, losing to Russia and Bulgaria, but recovered dramatically:
• survived the knockout match against Ukraine;
• destroyed Russia 3–0 in the quarterfinals;
• then defeated hosts Azerbaijan in the bronze-medal match.
Eda Erdem was selected in the Dream Team as one of the tournament’s two middle blockers.
And that’s another lovely long-term connection: Eda Erdem’s Türkiye went from EuroVolley bronze in 2017 to EuroVolley gold in 2023 and 2026.

Also on October 6, 2017, more than 10,000 people gathered in Belgrade to welcome home the Serbian women’s national team after their EuroVolley triumph in Baku.
Serbia had beaten the Netherlands 3–1 in the final on October 1, with Tijana Bošković named MVP.
So October 6 was the celebration day of a title that had been won five days earlier.

Back to the present, to replace outside hitter Nooa Marttila, who left the club to join Italian newcomers Tinet Prata di Pordenone, Arago de Sète hired Argentine international Nicolás Lazo, from Ciudad Voley is homeland!
The 31-years-old player already played in France, defending the colors of Montpellier in 2021. Staying in France, on National Coaches Day, João Paulo Bravo cannot take charge of Cannes without the required French coaching qualification, so Cyril Ong steps in — while the Brazilian remains with the club, while in Italy Gabriele Laurenzano will stay in Trento at least until 2029.

2027 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup — Qualified Teams:

NORCECA — 6 Teams
• USA — Co-Host
• Canada — Co-Host
• Cuba
• Dominican Republic
• Puerto Rico
• Mexico

CEV — 16 Teams
• Italy – Defending Champion
• Türkiye
• Serbia
• Poland
• Netherlands
• Russia
• Germany
• Czechia
• Belgium
• France
• Slovenia
• Sweden
• Ukraine
• Greece
• Bulgaria
• Switzerland

CSV — 3 Teams
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia

AVC — 4 Teams
• China
• Japan
• Thailand
• South Korea

CAVB — 3 Teams
• Egypt
• Kenya
• Cameroon

Switzerland will make its FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup debut in 2027, becoming the only first-time participant among the 32 teams heading to the USA and Canada.
Currently ranked 30th in the world, Switzerland made the final cut-off for World Cup qualification, securing a historic spot among the world’s top 32 teams.
A historic milestone for Swiss volleyball!
After making a historic debut at the 2025 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup, formerly known as the FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championship, Vietnam will miss the next edition in 2027.
Vietnam fell just 3.83 ranking points short of overtaking Switzerland for the final World Cup spot.
The losses suffered during the SEA V Cup and AVC Continental Championship ultimately proved costly, leaving Vietnam narrowly outside the qualification spots for the 2027 World Cup.

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