The Italian Women's Serie A1 will have a special Bulgarian flavor in the 2026/27 season. Kalina Veneva is making a huge step towards one of the strongest leagues in the world with the newcomer Banca Valsabbina Millenium Brescia, Mikaela Stoyanova continues her development in the elite with CBF Balducci HR Macerata, and another very interesting figure for Bulgaria is added to them – our men's national team coach Gianlorenzo Blengini at the helm of the ambitious Numia Vero Volley Milano.
Thus, throughout the season, we will have three different reasons to follow Serie A1.
For 17-year-old Kalina Veneva, this will be her first true contact with club volleyball at the highest level. The U19 world champion and one of the greatest hopes of Bulgarian women's volleyball moved to Brescia after the club won promotion to A1. The Italians presented the Bulgarian as one of the young talents on whom they will build their project. However, there will be no smooth transition for her – already in her first season, Veneva will have to face the strongest teams and some of the best volleyball players in the world.
Mika Stoyanova already knows what Serie A1 means. After her season with Vallefoglia and winning the Challenge Cup, the 21-year-old Bulgarian opposite hitter moved to Macerata. The new club also sees her as a player with potential for serious development, and Stoyanova herself explained during her presentation that she chose Macerata precisely as a place where she could take the next step in her career.
And already on October 25, the two Bulgarians will find themselves on opposite sides of the net – Brescia hosts Macerata. This will be the first Bulgarian derby Veneva – Stoyanova in Serie A1. The return match is on January 10, 2027, in Macerata.
But the Bulgarian trace does not end with the two national team players.
Milano is starting a new project with Gianlorenzo Blengini. For the Bulgarian public, every big match of Numia will be interesting through the prism of the work of the Italian, who simultaneously continues to lead the Bulgarian men's national team.
And the calendar offers enough such evenings.
Already on October 11, Macerata hosts Milano – Mika Stoyanova against Blengini's team. On November 8, the first big derby for Kiko arrives – Scandicci against Milano. Just three days later, on November 11, Milano hosts Brescia and Kalina Veneva will also face the team of the Bulgarian national coach.
And on November 22, one of the matches that should definitely be noted comes – Milano hosts the champion Conegliano.
Thus, within just six weeks, the three Bulgarian storylines begin to intertwine.
There are also two other particularly interesting tests for our young players. Mika and Macerata visit Conegliano on November 8, while Kalina will have matches against Scandicci and Conegliano in the first half of the season.

The calendar also shows something else – for Veneva and Stoyanova, there won't be a long wait before they are thrown against the best. The matches against Milano, Scandicci, and Conegliano will be one of the best indicators of how far the two young Bulgarian women have progressed in their development. For Blengini, the perspective is different. Milano is not entering the season just to check its level against the giants. The ambition is for the top, and therefore the matches with Scandicci and especially with the champion Conegliano will be the first major benchmarks for the Italian specialist's new project. That's why in the 2026/27 season, the Bulgarian gaze towards Serie A1 will not only be focused on how many points Veneva and Stoyanova have scored. We will follow the development of two of the most interesting young Bulgarian volleyball players and, at the same time, the work of the person entrusted with the present of our men's national team. Three different stories that will begin to intersect on Italian courts this autumn.