VNL 2026

Bottolo and Bovolenta on fire as Italy return to winning ways

The outside hitter and the opposite combined to produce 39 points as the Europeans took Brazil down in Ljubljana

Published 08:41, 26 Jun 2026

Brazil (BRA) vs. Italy (ITA) - Pool 6 - Preliminary Phase #109234243

Bovolenta delivered 19 points in the Italian victory

After going down in their first two matches in Ljubljana during the second week of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2026, world champions Italy celebrated their first victory in the Slovenian capital on Friday.

Playing for the third time in as many days, the Europeans overcame Brazil 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23) and returned to winning ways in the tournament, leaving the upsets to Bulgaria and Ukraine behind them.

Brazil vs. Italy - Highlights | Men's VNL 2026

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The Italians, who had won three out of four matches in the opening week in Ottawa, now have four wins and three losses in the VNL 2026, ranking fifth in the VNL standings with 13 points. Brazil have 11 points and now appear in seventh place with four wins and two losses.

One of the seven 2025 world champions representing Italy this week in Slovenia, outside hitter Mattia Bottolo was the leading scorer in their victory, which had Italian comebacks in both the second and fourth sets.

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The 26-year-old Bottolo registered 17 kills, two aces and one block to leave the court with a season-high 20 points. Opposite Alessandro Bovolenta, 22, also played a major role in the European victory with 19 points (14 kills, three blocks, two aces).

"After two tough losses, it was very important for us to win today," Bovolenta said. "Matches against Brazil are always very competitive, so this was a very important result for us. It really means a lot, and the entire team is happy."

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Leading Brazil, who lost both their matches in Ljubljana, having fallen to Ukraine on Wednesday, was team captain and outside hitter Ricardo Lucarelli, who had a 14-point performance with 11 kills, two blocks and one ace, and outscored middle blocker Judson Nunes and opposite Bryan Alves by two points.

"We can't accept the fact that we lost two sets in which we had significant leads," Lucarelli remarked. "We were playing well and couldn't have lost our focus in the way we did. Our performance today was better than against Ukraine, but we made mistakes in moments we couldn't."

Brazil will continue to pursue their first victory in Ljubljana on Saturday, when they play hosts Slovenia at 20:30 local time (18:30 GMT). After playing in three consecutive days, the Italians will have Saturday off before completing their schedule against Slovenia on Sunday, at 20:30 (18:30 GMT).

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