VolleyBar111# : Monday October 19, 2026

On this day…
Amarcord and volleyball birthdays, remembering Vladimir Belyayev and new season.

Welcome to the 111th Episode of VolleyBar, the first one after our usual weekend break.
Taking this opportunity to thank all our readers, both old and new, we would also like to remind everyone to beware of imitations. A well-known Italian website has repeatedly published word-for-word translations of our articles and regularly reproduces almost every one of our news stories in its own “daily column”, a format blatantly copied from our very own VolleyBar.

The research for October 19 brings up several strong stories across different eras: a crucial Soviet defeat at the inaugural Olympic volleyball tournament in 1964, the Brazilian beach volleyball legends Emanuel and Ricardo becoming world champions in 2003, and two domestic Super Cup finals with very different stories. There are also several international players celebrating birthdays today.

In 1964 Japan defeated the Soviet Union 3–1 in the men’s Olympic tournament on October 19. The match proved significant in a competition in which the two European powers, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, finished with identical records of eight wins and one loss. The Soviet Union ultimately took gold on the points-ratio tiebreak, while Japan won bronze. Japan’s victory over the Soviets was the only defeat suffered by the eventual Olympic champions during the tournament. 
The October 19 programme also saw Bulgaria sweep the United States 3–0, the Netherlands beat South Korea 3–1, Czechoslovakia defeat Brazil 3–0, and Romania overcome Hungary 3–1. The results came during the first-ever Olympic volleyball tournament, with ten teams competing in a round-robin format. 
Meanwhile, Romania defeated the Republic of Korea 3–0 (15:10, 15:9, 15:6) also in Tokyo. Women’s volleyball was also making its Olympic debut, and the tournament would end with Japan winning gold ahead of the Soviet Union and Poland.

In 1968, Japan defeated Czechoslovakia 3–0 in the women’s tournament on October 19 at the Mexico City Olympics. Japan would go on to win the gold medal, confirming the dominance of the team that had already captured the inaugural Olympic women’s title in Tokyo four years earlier. 

On October 19, 2002, Noicom Brebanca Cuneo defeated host club Modena 3–0 (25:18, 25:20, 25:15) to win the Italian Super Cup. The result is a useful entry in the history of a Cuneo side that became one of the leading forces in Italian men’s volleyball in the early 2000s.

In 2003, Brazilian legends Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos won the men’s world title on October 19 at Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro. They defeated Americans Dax Holdren and Stein Metzger 2–0 (21:18, 21:15). The triumph was the fifth of the pair’s 33 FIVB World Tour victories and came less than a year before their Olympic gold medal at Athens 2004. Widely regarded as one of the most successful teams in beach volleyball history, Emanuel and Ricardo became defining figures of the sport’s golden era. 

In 2013, Embalajes Blanco Tramek Murillo defeated Haro Rioja Voley 3–0 (25:19, 25:14, 25:18) to win the Spanish Super Cup. Fernanda Gritzbach was named MVP after leading Murillo to the first top-flight title in the club’s history. The victory was particularly meaningful for a club founded only nine years earlier, which had previously lost three finals in the top division.

In 2018, Alexandr Dyachenko and Alexey Sidorenko of Kazakhstan won the Bandar Anzali Open in Iran on October 19. They defeated Iranian pair Bahman Salemi and Arash Vakili in the final, securing the first and only FIVB World Tour victory of their partnership. It was a notable breakthrough for Kazakhstan’s beach volleyball programme at the time. 

Niverka Marte was born on October 19, 1990 and turns 36 today.
A long-serving setter and a central figure in the Dominican Republic’s women’s national team, she has competed at three Olympic Games: London 2012, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. She also won gold at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima and at the Central American and Caribbean Games in 2010 and 2014. 

Saša Starović was born on October 19, 1988 and turns 38 today.
The former opposite represented Serbia at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. His international honours include European Championship gold in 2011, bronze at the 2010 World Championship and medals in the World League. His club career included spells in Italy with Lube Macerata, Latina, Verona and Milano, as well as Greece with PAOK and Panathinaikos. 

Vladimir Belyayev died on October 19, 2021, aged 76.
The Ukrainian-born former Soviet volleyball player was part of the Soviet Union’s gold-medal-winning men’s team at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. He was also a European champion in 1967. His death anniversary is a significant addition to the October 19 record, particularly alongside the Olympic history associated with this date. 

Back to the present, in Italy, the 2026/27 SuperLega season gets underway. The first round concluded over the weekend, with Cucine Lube Civitanova beating Rana Verona 3–0, Itas Trentino sweeping Modena 3–0, Piacenza winning 3–0 at Padova, and Cisterna stunning Allianz Milano 3–0. Perugia survived a five-set battle to beat Cuneo 3–2, while newcomers Tinet Prata di Pordenone marked its SuperLega debut with a 3–1 win over Monza. 

In Türkiye, the Efeler Ligi opens with a dramatic comeback. Altekma overturned a two-set deficit to defeat Spor Toto 3–2, with Jackson Young scoring 33 points. Ziraat Bankkart also made a statement by sweeping Fenerbahçe Medicana 3–0, while Halkbank beat Galatasaray 3–1 after losing the first set. The scheduled Sultanbeyli–Alanya match was not played, with the circumstances awaiting a federation decision.

In France, Tours begin the Alterna Volstar season with a win, defeating Nice 3–1 on October 18, another result from the opening weekend of the French men’s league.

In Poland, Bogdanka LUK Lublin has successfully launched their 2026/27 TAURON Liga campaign with a straight-sets road victory over ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle: 23:25, 22:25, 21:25.
Competing without Wilfredo León, LUK Lublin edged the hosts in three tightly contested frames. Ran Takahashi led the scoring effort with 15 points in his league debut, followed by Mikołaj Sawicki with 13. Aleks Grozdanov secured match MVP honors, contributing 11 points highlighted by high offensive efficiency and strong blocking.

In Japan, the Tokyo Great Bears have officially opened their SV.League campaign with a hard-fought victory, surviving a massive challenge from newly promoted Hokkaido Yellow Stars in a thrilling five-set battle: 22:25, 25:22, 19:25, 25:23, 15:8.

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