Russia Claims Spot in Worlds Final Six; Italy Closes Round 2 with Win
Russia claimed its place in the World Championships final six with a sweep of Finland, behind 18 points by substitute Victor Polataev. Italy rested all of its starters and still came out with a 3-1 win over the Netherlands to remain atop the group.
Argentina Advances Despite Loss to Japan; Italy Moves to 5-0 in Pool A
Japan defeated Argentina in five sets, but missed out on a spot in the second round on point totals (6-5) to the Argentines. The day’s other match planted Italy firmly atop the group at 5-0 as the host nation edged Slovenia in four sets after dropping the opener.
Italy Announces 14-Man Roster for 2018 World Championships
Italy has whittled their roster from 16 to 14, including the elimination of an Olympic silver medalist. (Superstar Ivan Zaytsev, above, is included in the team).
Italy, Netherlands Men Split Friendlies 22 Years After Olympic Final
Led by 21 points from Ivan Zaytsev (above) Italy was dominant in the first match, and then in the 2nd, the Netherlands won by the same 3-2 score that they recorded in the final of the 1996 Olympic Games.
Italy Announces Friendlies, Men’s World Championship Training Roster
Simone Anzani (above) and Italy will play a pair of friendlies against world #25 the Netherlands in early August.
#VNL Pool 20 Preview: France, Italy, Russia, USA
With the top three teams in the VNL standings plus seventh place Italy in Pool 20, it could be considered the group of death in terms of toughness. The Russians and Americans are just mere points away from the Final Six, while Italy will rely on home court advantage to push through.
Italy Announces Roster for #VNL Week 5 With a Surprise Omission
The Italian National Team has announced their roster for Week 5 of the Volleyball Nations League. How will they fare without Osmany Juantorena against the top 3 teams in the tournament?
Italian Offense, Aussie Defense Lead to #VNL Pool 13 Marathon Wins
Korea dominated the offensive side of the ball and Italy excelled at the net before the Italians eventually hung on for the five-set victory. In a match featuring three deuce sets, all in extra points, a 12-kill advantage was the difference in a four-set Australian win.
Italy Wins 500th World Level Match; Australia Stuffs South Korea
In what was Italy’s 500th world level victory, the team rode a balanced scoring effort and strong net play to a four-set win over China to kick off VNL Week 4. Twelve blocks and 32 Korean miscues gifted Australia a four-set win on Friday.
Osmany Juantorena and Ivan Zaytsev out for Italy in Week 3 of VNL
After scoring the majority of Italy’s points thus far in the VNL, Osmany Juantorena and Ivan Zaytsev will not be travelling with the team to Osaka, Japan in Week 3.
