Italian Women's Volleyball and the Lesson from Empty Stands: When Data Speaks for Half of Humanity

Milan, a September afternoon. I sat in the small stands of PalaLido, where AC Milan Women faced Unet E-Work Busto Arsizio. The match ended 3-1 in favor of the home team, but what caught my attention was not the result. It was how Coach Stefano Lavarini's team operated their defensive system. In the first three sets, Milan's perfect first-pass rate reached 68%, a remarkable figure compared to the league average of 52%. But behind that number lies a story of patience and tactical vision that I have witnessed for over thirty years of following women's volleyball. When I began my writing career in 2026 at the Newark Advertiser, Italian women's volleyball was practically invisible in newspapers. I recall the 2026 season, when the Italian women's national team qualified for the European Championship for the first time, but only three articles were written about this historic event nationwide. Three articles for a historic event. That is why I decided to dedicate most of my career to filling this gap. From the courts of Milan to the doors of media: we are not just playing, we are paving the way. The match between Milan and Busto Arsizio is a perfect example of what I call 'the power of those who dare to sit and listen.' The stands held only about 1,200 spectators, but those present were genuinely invested. They did not come to watch a show; they came to watch a real match. And they witnessed one of the most tactically refined performances I have seen in this league in recent years. Let's talk tactics. Coach Lavarini applied a variation of the 5-1 system with one crucial difference: instead of using the libero traditionally, he instructed his libero to participate in the attacking phase from the back zone. This created a double defensive layer, allowing the outside hitters to focus all their energy on attacking from position 4 without worrying about defensive support. The result was that in the second set, Milan scored 17 points from wing attacks, compared to only 9 for their opponents. I have followed Milan's matches throughout this season, and I can confirm that this change is not coincidental. In their last three matches, the team's PPDA index has dropped from 4.2 to 3.1, showing they are pressing opponents more during the defensive phase. This is a crucial tactical signal that many fans might miss if they only look at the scoreline. But the more interesting aspect lies in the contrarian angle. When I talk about gender equality in the stands, I am not talking about seats – I am talking about voices. Many believe the problem of women's volleyball lies in the lack of commercial investment. I disagree. The real problem lies in the lack of investment in storytelling. We can put female players on television more often, but if the articles about them only revolve around emotions and sacrifice without tactical analysis, we are still treating them as supporting characters in someone else's story. Look at the case of Paola Egonu. She is one of the world's most outstanding volleyball athletes, but when I interviewed her after the match against Busto Arsizio, she said: 'I don't want to be just an emotional story; I want to be a good tactical player.' That answer made me realize that writers of women's sports need to go beyond the cliché of excessive celebration. We need to analyze their tactical roles within the team system, exactly as we do with male players. Data supports this view. In the 2026-2026 season, only 12% of total articles about women's volleyball in Italy included in-depth tactical analysis, compared to 47% for men's volleyball. This is not a data problem. FIVB provides complete statistics for all competitions. The issue lies in the writer's choice. We have become accustomed to writing about the emotional stories of female players, but we forget that they are also strategists on the court. I recall the 2026 season, when the pandemic halted all competitions. I was 43 years old and witnessed female players losing their legitimate income. I initiated the 'Voci in Campo' campaign – a series of online podcast interviews with 15 female players from Serie A. One of them, a 21-year-old forward from Fiorentina Women, admitted she had considered quitting football. The campaign attracted 50,000 downloads and persuaded two local sponsors to renew contracts for the women's team. That was when I learned to write in an empowering way – turning difficult stories into calls for collective action. Back to the match at PalaLido. What impressed me most was how Milan handled the situation when the opponent led 2-1 in the third set. Coach Lavarini made a bold tactical change: bringing in a second libero and switching to a four-player back-row defensive system. This is a rare decision at club level, but it changed the course of the match. In the final seven points of the set, Milan won six, primarily due to superior defensive ability. When I talk about women's volleyball, I am not talking about comparing it to men's. I am talking about recognizing its own value. Women's sports do not need to be like men's sports to deserve respect. They need to be seen as themselves, with their own tactics, their own stories, and their own values. And that begins with us, the writers, changing how we tell stories. In 2026, I went to Russia to cover the men's World Cup and realized the biggest stage was still missing half of humanity. During the broadcast of the France-Croatia match, I repeatedly asked: 'Why doesn't the media give 1/10 of this attention to the Women's World Cups?' The figure I cited was that only 0.8% of total Italian sports broadcast time in 2026 was devoted to women's sports. My words sparked controversy but created a major discussion on social media with 25,000 tweets that night. Now, in 2026, I look back and see that what we need is not just more articles about women's sports, but better articles. Articles with tactical depth, data analysis, and critical perspectives. Articles that not only tell what a female player achieved, but also how she did it, with what tactics, under what pressure. The match between Milan and Busto Arsizio ended 3-1. But for me, the real victory lies in the fact that 1,200 people came and witnessed one of the most tactically refined performances of the season. They did not come to watch a show; they came to watch a real match. And that is what I believe Italian women's volleyball is gradually achieving: a community of people who truly understand and love this sport, not because it is women's sports, but because it is good sports. The empty stands of 2026 taught me that: strength does not lie in the number of seats, but in those who dare to sit and listen. And now, when I see 1,200 people at PalaLido, I realize we are building a community, not just an audience. That is the change I have been waiting for for thirty years. Transfers are not just numbers; they are maps of power and opportunity – and women deserve a place on that map. When I look at the Serie A Femminile transfer market this season, I see numbers gradually changing. The total transfer value of female players increased by 23% compared to last season, a signal that the market is beginning to recognize their true value. But more important is the change in how we talk about these numbers. We no longer just talk about how much a female player was transferred for, but about what she will bring to her new team, about the tactics she will participate in. I do not write about women's football to compare with men's; I write because it is my own story. And that story, like every real sports story, is not only about victory and defeat, but also about the values we choose to respect. When I write about Italian women's volleyball, I am writing about a part of myself, about what I have learned from thirty years of observation, and about what I believe the future will bring. From Milan to Moscow, from the pitch to the screen, my journey is a circle of solidarity. And in that circle, I have learned that change does not come from grand articles, but from small details: a tactical metric properly analyzed, a story told with respect, a match watched with genuine focus. That is how we build the future for women's volleyball – not by demanding attention, but by proving we deserve it.