Italian team aces it in Chicago

A capacity crowd watched the Italian national team dominate its American counterpart during recent tournament play in the Chicago area.

Italian volleyball fans in the Chicago area were delighted this summer to watch firsthand as the Italian national men’s team took on Team USA at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates.

The crowd was near the arena’s capacity of 11,218 and while the vast majority were wearing red, white and blue, there was a small but mighty contingent of fans supporting Team Italy.

A few Italy fans waved the Tricolore and sang along to “Inno di Mameli” during the national anthems before the match.

While Team USA had home-field advantage, crowd support wasn’t enough to slow down the talented Italian squad. The Italians outscored the host squad in aces — 8-1 — and blocks — 6-2 — and benefitted from fewer errors — 18-23.

Team Italy won the first set handily. In the second set, Team USA got out to an early lead but then Italy went on a run and eventually won 25-22. The Italians controlled the third set and never looked back, winning the match easily and sending Team USA fans home after only three sets.

Joey Tunzi of Hoffman Estates was among the Team Italy fans who witnessed the drubbing.

“Italy just crushed them,” Tunzi says. “USA didn’t have much defense. Three sets to nothing is all you need to know.”

Tunzi says he enjoyed seeing world-class volleyball in the Chicago area.

“In Italy, volleyball is a big thing,” Tunzi says. “It’s really cool to see it here. I think they’ve got to grow it.”

The Italy vs. USA match was just one of 12 held at NOW Arena in late June as part of the International Federation of Volleyball’s 2025 edition of the Men’s Volleyball Nations League. The 18-team tournament ran from mid-June through early August and included matches hosted in nine different countries.

Officials say it is the largest volleyball tournament outside the Olympics. Many of the athletes vying for the VNL tournament’s top prize are also going to represent their nations on the world’s biggest stage, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The attendance for the 2025 VNL tournament overall was 413,916, which is around 3,568 per match.

VNL officials say volleyball is ranked as the third most-watched sport worldwide, with more than 800 million fans around the globe following matches in person or on television each year.

Tournament officials say a record-breaking 39,500 fans attended matches at NOW Arena during its five-day, 12-match pool.

“We were absolutely thrilled to see such a massive audience turn out,” says Stephanie Giardina, chief revenue officer at Volleyball World. “The energy in the arena was electric, and it’s amazing to witness how the love for volleyball is growing worldwide. This kind of support inspires the players and elevates the entire sport.”

Each team played 12 matches during the tournament’s three-week pool stage. The eight teams with the best record advanced to the quarterfinals in Ningbo, China.

Team USA ended up in 11th place at the end of pool play and were left out of the quarterfinals. Team Italy won 10 matches and lost only two, earning them the second seed.

During the quarterfinals, the Italians knocked out the host Chinese squad in the first round, then beat Slovenia’s team in the second round, which sent them to the gold-medal game against Team Poland.

But Team Italy had to settle for the silver medal after Poland’s squad defeated them 3 sets to 0. It is the first time in the seven VNL tournaments that Team Italy earned a medal. The best the squad previously achieved were back-to-back fourth-place finishes in 2022 and 2023. The silver medal meant the Italian squad earned a prize pool estimated at $632,000, according to the tournament website.

The Italian women’s team played their U.S. matches in Arlington, Virginia, and went on to capture first place in the VNL finals held in Lodz, Poland.

Two Italian players won awards for their play in the tournament: Simone Giannelli won the prize for Best Setter and Alessandro Michieletto was one of two players honored as Best Outside Hitter.

The article above appears in the October 2025 issue of the print version of Fra Noi. Our gorgeous, monthly magazine contains a veritable feast of news and views, profiles and features, entertainment and culture.

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