117. Timeouts in Focus: Italy vs Canada - VNL 2026

⚡ What’s inside this article?

We pull back the curtain on the timeouts from both coaches. What tactical messages are they sending out when everything is on the line?

Using audio clean-ups, we isolate what is said — then translate (Italian ↔ English) so you can capture exactly what the coaches meant.

👥 The coaches on the bench

Canada is led by Giovanni Guidetti, head coach of the Canadian women’s national team and Turkish club VakıfBank.

We recently sat down with Giovanni to discuss culture, staff, belief and why surrounding yourself with people who are better than you is not a risk.

114. Giovanni Guidetti: I don’t want to be in the photo. I want to be the photographer.

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On the opposite bench is Julio Velasco, head coach of the Italian women’s national team.

Julio is best known for transforming the Italian men’s national team into the dominant force of the early 1990s.

After decades of work with elite clubs, national teams and the Italian federation’s development system, he took charge of Italy’s women in 2024.

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Julio Velasco is a legendary figure in the world of volleyball. Over the years Julio had many roles in international volleyball, from coaching Italian top teams, the Italian phenomenal 90’s National team and other world class national teams.

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54. Julio Velasco: Be a happy and energetic coach.

In this 2nd Julio Velasco Masterclass article, we focus on the mistakes he feels he made and the lessons he learned from them. But we also go deeper into Julio’s favorite resources which helped him become a master coach.

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💡 Match details

Italy and Canada met on July 11, 2026, at the Kai Tak Sports Arena in Hong Kong, during Week 3 of the Women’s VNL preliminary round.
The match was especially important for Canada, which entered it needing results to qualify for the VNL Finals.

Canada took a 2–0 lead through strong serving, stable reception and effective transition play. Good passing allowed Canada to vary its attack instead of relying only on Kiera Van Ryk.

From the third set, Italy improved its reception, involved its middle attackers more often and created better opportunities for Ekaterina Antropova. Italy also increased its serving pressure, making Canada’s attack more predictable.

With a stronger block and fewer errors, Italy won the third and fourth sets 25–23 before dominating the tie-break 15–5 to complete a 3–2 comeback.
Despite the defeat, Canada earned one standings point and remained in control of its qualification chances.

The following day, Canada beat the Dominican Republic 3–1 and secured its place in the VNL Finals.

Stat Sheet:

📺 Highlight Reel

Important reminder

These clips offer a brief look at what happens during the timeouts. They are not—and should never be treated as—a critique of what was said, why it was said or how it was communicated.

A timeout is only one visible moment within a much larger coaching process. Enjoy!