VolleyBar120# : Friday October 30, 2026

On this day…
Amarcord and volleyball birthdays, Poland and France, #NoClubsNoVolley again. Filippo Lanza, Africa and some transfers rumors…(or not?)

Welcome to the 120th Episode of VolleyBar, the last one before a well-deserved weekend break!

On October 30, 1994, Cuba were crowned world champions at the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, crushing hosts Brazil 3–0 (15:2, 15:10, 15:5) in a final that lasted just 70 minutes.
The Cuban team, featuring Regla Torres, Marlenis Costa, Regla Bell, Magaly Carvajal, Lilia Izquierdo and Mireya Luis, overwhelmed Brazil with a dominant blocking performance and an attacking rhythm the home side struggled to contain. Brazil, coached by Bernardo Rezende, had Ana Moser, Márcia Fu and Fernanda Venturini among its leading players.
It was Cuba’s second world title, following its triumph in 1978, and the beginning of a remarkable period of dominance that would bring another championship in Japan in 1998. For Brazil, despite the emphatic defeat, the silver medal represented the first World Championship podium finish in the history of its women’s national team.

21 years ago, on October 30, 2005, at Playa Tamarindos in Acapulco, Brazil’s Juliana Felisberta and Larissa França defeated Olympic and world champions Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh in an extraordinary World Tour final.
The Brazilians prevailed 2–1 (28:26, 40:42, 15:13) after 100 minutes of play. The second set alone produced 82 points, with the Americans eventually winning it 42–40 in one of the most extraordinary passages of beach volleyball ever played.
The FIVB has identified the match as the longest on the World Tour since the introduction of rally scoring. Its 40–42 second set remains an extraordinary scoring record. The match also marked Juliana and Larissa’s first victory over May-Treanor and Walsh in their first six encounters. It was the seventh of the 45 international gold medals the Brazilian partnership would eventually win together.

October 30, 2010: the second day of the 2010 FIVB Women’s World Championship featured three matches in Pool A, including a five-set battle between Serbia and Poland. Serbia recovered after losing the opening set to win 3–1 (19:25, 27:25, 26:24, 25:22). Japan also delighted the home crowd, defeating Peru 3–1 (25:15, 25:17, 22:25, 25:14), while Costa Rica swept Algeria 3–0 (25:18, 25:21, 25:10).
The tournament had opened the previous day, October 29, and eventually concluded with Russia winning the title, Brazil taking silver and Japan claiming bronze.

On this day in 2013, thirteen years ago, Diatec Trentino strengthened their position at the top of Pool D in the 2013–14 CEV DenizBank Champions League with a 3–0 (25:16, 25:15, 25:23) home victory over Switzerland’s Energy Investments Lugano at the BTS Arena.
The Italian champions controlled the first two sets before having to withstand a stronger challenge from the visitors in the third. Tsvetan Sokolov and Filippo Lanza led Trentino with 12 points apiece, while Alexandre Ferreira added 10 and Sebastián Solé finished with nine.
Roberto Serniotti’s team reached six points after two matches and moved clear at the top of the pool, ahead of Berlin Recycling Volleys, Lugano and Arkas Izmir.

On October 30, 2016, a 17-year-old Paola Egonu produced one of the most extraordinary individual performances in Italian volleyball history, scoring 46 points for Club Italia CRAI against Il Bisonte Firenze in the third round of the women’s Serie A1.
Club Italia fought back twice but eventually lost 2–3 (21:25, 26:24, 23:25, 25:20, 18:20). The young team even led 13–10 in the deciding tie-break before Firenze turned the match around, driven by Indre Sorokaite, who scored 31 points.
Egonu’s 46-point haul surpassed the previous Serie A1 record of 42, set by Liubov Sokolova in 2009, and equalled the all-time record for the Italian national leagues, previously achieved by Mariana Conde in Serie A2 in 1999.
The victory slipped away, but that afternoon offered an unmistakable glimpse of the extraordinary player who would go on to transform Italian volleyball.

More recently, on October 30, 2025, Verona make history at the top of SuperLega.
Rana Verona defeated Allianz Milano 3–0 (25:22, 25:22, 25:20) to close the third round of the 2025/26 Italian SuperLega.
It was Verona’s third consecutive victory, giving the club a perfect nine points and its first-ever position at the top of the SuperLega standings. Noumory Keita and Rok Možič were among the key figures in a performance that included a 61% attacking efficiency. Lorenzo Sani’s introduction also proved important during the opening set.
A significant milestone for a club that had never previously led the Italian men’s top flight. 

Tandara Caixeta was born on October 30, 1988 and turns 38 today. One of the most powerful attackers of her generation, she was part of Brazil’s Olympic gold-medal-winning team at London 2012 and the silver-medal team at Tokyo 2020.
She also won the 2011 Pan American Games and the 2014 World Championship bronze medal. Her career with the Brazilian national team included some of the most important achievements in the country’s modern women’s volleyball history. 

Valentina Borrelli was born on October 30, 1978 and turns 48 today. She was part of the Italian women’s national team that won the country’s first-ever senior World Championship title in 2002 in Germany.
A left-handed outside hitter, she collected 99 senior international appearances and played for several Italian clubs, including Vicenza, Spezzano and Piacenza. Her international career also included youth European and World Championship medals. 

Italian setter Luca Spirito was October 30, 1993 and turns 33 today. Born in Savona, he came through the Club Italia development programme before establishing himself in the top Italian leagues. He won the 2012 European U20 Championship with Italy and later represented the senior national team, including at the 2017 European Championship.
He also won gold at the 2018 Mediterranean Games.

Back to the present, Karol Butryn has reached a milestone reserved for the very best scorers in Polish volleyball, becoming only the fourth player in the history of the country’s top division to surpass 5,000 points, placing himself alongside three of the most recognisable names of the modern era!
He reached the milestone in one of the two games of third round of 2026/27 TAURON Liga played yesterday.
In the first one, ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle finally opened their league account with a straight-sets victory away at Energa Indykpol AZS Olsztyn, while Butryn’s Asseco Resovia Rzeszów recovered from losing the opening set to beat Energa Trefl Gdańsk in four sets.

Meanwhile, in France, Alterna SPVB Poitiers finally have a win to celebrate, after defeating Narbonne 3-1 (25:16, 25:20, 23:25, 25:14) in the opening match of Round 4.

In Italy, as already anticipated yesterday, Perugia have gone on the attack. Sir Susa Scai Perugia president Gino Sirci used a club press conference on Thursday to launch #NoClubsNoVolley, a campaign against the FIVB’s draft international calendar.
Under the draft, club seasons would start earlier and stop between December and January to make room for national-team competitions. Perugia call it the 2028-2032 calendar, the FIVB’s own consultation is titled ‘Volleyball Calendar 2029-2032’.
“We have seen and consulted it, but we absolutely do not agree,” Sirci said. He warned of smaller crowds, lost sponsors and more injuries, and said the Italian federation and 25 other European clubs back Perugia’s position.
Sirci went further: if the plan passes, he would probably tell the players not to go to their national teams during that two-month window. He expects a decision around mid-November.
Captain Simone Giannelli added: “We are not here to point the finger at anyone.” He called for everyone to work together to make volleyball even better. Kamil Semeniuk and Oleh Plotnytskyi warned about the physical and mental toll on players, while head coach Angelo Lorenzetti added: “It will be very difficult to keep the people we work with healthy.” The campaign is already spreading: Bulgarian champions Levski Sofia and vice-champions Neftochimic Burgas both confirmed on Thursday that they have joined it.
The FIVB says its consultation is still ongoing. Its last published update (August 17) said clubs had been heard and that the FIVB Athletes’ Commission, Coaches Commission and Volleyball Council would be consulted next.

At Cisterna, outside hitter Filippo Lanza spoke about Sunday’s match against Piacenza:
“It’s always nice to receive compliments, and we brought plenty of them home from Trento, in the same suitcase that also carried the strong feeling that we could have achieved more. Now it’s time to raise the intensity. We need points.
Piacenza come into this match on the back of two convincing wins. They are in good physical and mental shape, highly motivated – perhaps even more so than Trento – and play very well as a team, with several quality players. They are a very difficult opponent to face.
But we are playing at home. On Sunday, we need a full arena and the warmth of our fans. We are ready to give everything, and we believe in what we can do.”

In Africa, the African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB) and Para Volley Afrique (PVA) will sign a cooperation agreement on Saturday, November 28, 2026, in Rabat, with the aim of developing volleyball and ParaVolley across the continent. The ceremony will take place at the CAVB headquarters.
Strengthening the capabilities of national federations and improving access to sport for people with disabilities are among the main objectives of the partnership that the CAVB and Para Volley Afrique are preparing to establish.
The agreement will provide for the development of joint programmes, training initiatives and the exchange of expertise between the two organisations. It is intended to create a framework for cooperation that will support the sustainable development of ParaVolley in Africa and promote a more accessible and equitable sporting environment.
Strengthening the capacity of national federations will be a central pillar of this cooperation. Through training and the sharing of expertise, the CAVB and PVA aim to support the development of the sport and expand opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in sporting activities.
The two organisations intend to make inclusion part of a long-term strategy, driven by joint programmes and support for stakeholders at national level.
The signing ceremony will be attended by Ehab Hassanein, President of Para Volley Afrique. According to the announced programme, it will be presided over by the President of the International Federation of Sports for Persons with Disabilities, giving the event both continental and international significance.
Hosting the ceremony in Rabat also highlights the contribution of the Kingdom of Morocco to African sports cooperation. For the CAVB and Para Volley Afrique, this partnership will provide an opportunity to turn the values of inclusion, solidarity and cooperation into concrete actions to support the development of sport across the continent.

And now for some transfer rumours!
Following the bombshell involving Wilfredo León, which we broke exclusively a few days ago, Turkish powerhouse Halkbank Ankara are reportedly also interested in Japanese outside hitter Ran Takahashi, who is currently playing for BOGDANKA LUK Lublin.
Another piece of transfer news concerns Polish outside hitter Kamil Semeniuk, currently with Sir Susa Scai Perugia. He is reportedly set to join Asseco Resovia Rzeszów for the 2027/28 season. Has the deal already been made official? Stay tuned. Meanwhile we are waiting for an announcement from one of our “friendly” Italian websites too…

Have a great volleyball weekend and not only!

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