The volleyball tournaments at the Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games concluded with titles for France in the men's competition and Turkey in the women's. Host Italy was left without gold, finishing with bronze in the men's and silver in the women's.
In the men's competition, France left no chances for Greece in the final and won decisively with 3:0 (25:18, 25:20, 25:15). The Greeks reached the title match after a dramatic success over host Italy with 3:2 (23:25, 25:23, 31:29, 25:27, 15:8) in the semi-final. In the other semi-final, France overcame Turkey also after five sets – 3:2 (25:21, 23:25, 25:18, 23:25, 15:10).
Italy still finished the tournament with a medal. In the match for third place, the "Azzurri" defeated Turkey with 3:2 (25:19, 24:26, 25:18, 23:25, 15:10). For Italy, this is a second consecutive bronze from the Mediterranean Games after the third place in Oran in 2022.
Final standings for men:1. France, 2. Greece, 3. Italy, 4. Turkey.
In the women's competition, Turkey won the gold after a clean victory over Italy in the final – 3:0 (25:22, 26:24, 25:18). The Italians reached the decisive match undefeated, including after a 3:0 (25:22, 25:14, 25:22) success over Greece in the semi-final. Turkey, for its part, eliminated Serbia with 3:1 (25:16, 23:25, 25:21, 25:22).
The bronze medals in the women's competition went to Serbia. The Serbians prevailed over Greece with 3:2 (22:25, 25:16, 25:20, 18:25, 15:7) in the small final.
Final standings for women:1. Turkey, 2. Italy, 3. Serbia, 4. Greece.
Thus, Italy concluded the home volleyball tournaments in Taranto with two medals, but without a title – silver in the women's and bronze in the men's. France and Turkey, on the other hand, left as champions in the men's and women's competitions, respectively.