The Italian men's national team concluded its preparatory matches before the start of the 2026 Volleyball Nations League with a defeat. In their final test, Ferdinando De Giorgi's team lost to Turkey 0:3 (24:26, 23:25, 21:25) in front of nearly 5000 spectators at the "ChorusLife Arena" in Bergamo.
Thus, the "Azzurri" concluded their series of friendly matches with two wins and one loss, and after a short break, they will reunite on June 4 in Rome before departing for Canada, where the first week of the Volleyball Nations League will commence.
Coach Slobodan Kovač's Turkish team showed greater stability in key moments and won all contested rallies at the end of the sets. In the first set, Italy recovered from a five-point deficit but lost 24:26. The second set also went point-for-point until 22:22, after which a serving run by Efe Bayram tilted the scales in favor of the visitors for a 25:23 win. In the third set, Turkey started with a 5:0 lead and controlled the game until the final 25:21.
The Turkish setter Murat Yenipazar was chosen as the most valuable player of the match.
Line-ups of both teams:
Italy: Tim Held, Paolo Porro, Gabriele Laurenzano, Kamil Rychlicki, Mattia Bottolo, Luca Porro, Giovanni Sanguinetti, Mattia Pardo, Alessandro Bovolenta, Mattia Orioli, Giovanni Gargiulo, Mattia Boninfante, Leonardo Pace, Leandro Ausini Mosca. Head coach: Ferdinando De Giorgi.
Turkey: Kaan Gürbüz, Ahmet Tümer, Ahmet Samet Baltalı, Mert Matic, Gökçen Yüksel, Bedirhan Bülbül, Cafer Kırkıt, Mirza Lagumdzija, Beytullah Hatipoğlu, Adis Lagumdzija, Murat Yenipazar, Berkay Bayraktar, Efe Bayram, Muhammed Kaya. Head coach: Slobodan Kovač.
Team Statistics
The numbers clearly show the superiority of the Turkish team in the most crucial components. The visitors finished with higher attack efficiency – 45% against 38%, scored more block points (11 against 7), and were more stable in reception with 53% positive reception against 49% for Italy. With an equal number of aces and the same number of service errors, it was precisely the better block organization and higher attack effectiveness that made the difference in favor of Turkey.
Alessandro Bovolenta was the top scorer for Italy with 10 points. For Turkey, Adis Lagumdzija scored 13 points, Efe Bayram added 12, and Ahmet Tümer finished with an impressive 83% attack efficiency.
