Italy sealed a flawless 5-0 Pool A campaign at EuroVolley 2026 with a dramatic 3-2 (25-19, 25-22, 27-29, 19-25, 15-9) victory over Slovenia at the PalaPanini in Modena on Wednesday night.
The world champions, coached by Ferdinando De Giorgi, had already secured top spot in the group after winning the first two sets. But what began as a clinical display turned into a stern test when De Giorgi rotated his entire squad, giving minutes to reserve players ahead of the knockout rounds.
Italy started with their strongest lineup: Simone Giannelli setting to Yuri Romanò, with Daniele Lavia and Mattia Bottolo on the wings, Gianluca Galassi and Pardo Mati in the middle, and Federico Balaso as libero. Slovenia, missing the injured Urnaut and Mozic (back problems), relied on Nik Mujanovic and Klemen Sen to carry the offensive load.
The opening set was tight until the midway point. Slovenia briefly led 8-6 before Italy found another gear. Romanò delivered back-to-back aces to close out the first set 25-19, having already amassed 7 points with 2 aces and a block.
The second set followed a similar pattern. Slovenia jumped ahead 9-5, but Italy clawed back through Lavia and Romanò. A crucial Giannelli ace levelled the score at 20-20, and a thunderous Mati block gave Italy set point at 22-21. Italy closed it out 25-22, mathematically clinching first place in Pool A.
With qualification assured, De Giorgi made sweeping changes. Alessandro Michieletto, returning from a lengthy injury layoff, joined Kamil Rychlicki, Luca Sbertoli, Luca Porro, Giovanni Sanguinetti, and Lorenzo Sani on court. The fresh legs initially struggled, falling behind 3-0 and 5-1 in the third set, before rallying to 12-12. A fierce exchange followed, with both sides trading set points deep into extra time. Slovenia eventually prevailed 29-27 after a double block on Rychlicki and then Porro.
The fourth set saw Slovenia maintain their momentum. The Italian second unit trailed throughout, and Slovenia sealed the set 25-19 to force a decider.
De Giorgi kept faith with the reserves for the fifth set, and they delivered. Rychlicki and Michieletto led a dominant display as Italy surged to 5-2, then 7-4, and eventually 12-6. Rychlicki's closing ace sealed the tiebreak 15-9 and completed Italy's unbeaten group phase.
Rychlicki topped Italy's scoring charts with 13 points, ahead of Lavia (12) and Romanò (11, including 3 aces). Mati contributed 9 points with an impressive 5 blocks. For Slovenia, Mujanovic was the match's leading scorer with 19 points, while Sen added 16 and Bracko 13.
The match lasted 138 minutes in front of 4,798 spectators. Italy will face Denmark in the round of 16 on Sunday at the PalaVela in Turin. Slovenia take on Serbia.
Sources
https://www.federvolley.it/cev-enel-eurovolley-2026-litalia-saluta-modena-con-la-vittoria-3-2-sulla-slovenia https://volleyweek.bg/en/article/27326-Italy-held-the-top-spot-after-a-fivegame-battle-Estonia-upset-Finland-and-sent-Belgium-to-first-place https://www.lastampa.it/sport/volley/2026/09/18/news/eurovolley_2026_italia_slovenia_3-2_a_modena_azzurri_primi_nel_girone-15741998/
