Italy's volleyball gold medallists have a roster mystery on their hands. Coach Julio Velasco's 2026 women's international squad — split unusually into A and B teams to manage the load between VNL and the European Championship — has named most of the expected veterans, but one absence has dominated the post-announcement conversation.
Rebecca Piva, the breakout outside hitter of the LVF regular season for Milano, is not on the list. And Velasco was asked about it directly.
"Felasco was asked this specific question at the press conference as well," volleyball analyst Everett Delorme noted on his channel breakdown of the roster. "And while I'm not going to play you the clip, I will read to you what was said."
Velasco's response was a study in deflection. "I don't explain why someone is not there," the legendary coach told reporters via a Discord-translated transcript. "I only explain why someone is there. No coach does that. I bet you wouldn't ask that to a soccer coach, would you? Or could we ask clubs why they didn't sign X player and sign Y instead? The question isn't appropriate. Nobody explains why a player isn't there. If anything, he explains why another is there."
The coach pivoted on the spot. "Isn't that weird that no one is asking me about why a Digway is on the list?" Velasco said, referring to non-starter Josephine Obossa. "She's not a starter. That would be a good question. I mean, if the exception proves the rule in math, doesn't it do the same in volleyball? Because the rule is different."
The data behind the snub fuels the controversy. Piva averaged 3.09 points per set this season — a remarkable figure given Milano's offensive structure runs through Olympic gold medallist Paola Egonu. "The fact that she's scoring over 300 points and averaging over three points per set this year, I think is pretty crazy," Delorme said. "But when we look at attacking, she was basically the top Italian attacker this year in the league, averaging basically 45% on attack with a 34% efficiency, which is best in both categories in the league amongst Italian outsides."
The defensive case is equally strong. "When we look at passing, she's the number one passing option as well with an average of 34% perfect passing and the highest passing efficiency."
The headline omission is far from the only one. Olympic libero great Monica De Gennaro has retired. Stars Paola Egonu, Alessia Orro, Miriam Sylla and Anna Danesi are skipping the VNL entirely and will only suit up for the European Championship at the end of the summer. Cristina Chirichella suffered a season-ending injury just before the Champions League finals. Alice Degradi has not recovered from World Championship surgery. Marina Lubian and Elena Pietrini turned down the national team in 2025 and, per Delorme, "are essentially no longer welcome."
That leaves Velasco's A team for the VNL thinly populated, with B team players expected to rotate through. Whether the absence of an attacker as productive as Piva turns into a midsummer talking point will depend on whether Italy's depth holds up against Brazil, Turkey and Poland in the early VNL weeks. On current form, Velasco's silence on the issue may not last the campaign.
