BVF Invitational Cup 2026: England defend title as both teams pick up medals

Simon Loftus and Carol Gordon's sides did themselves proud with a spirited performance to ensure both sides went away with medals.

England Women

England’s first match saw them face off against eventual finalists Scotland, in a match that foreshadowed their gold medal matchup and went the full five sets.

Scotland would claim an early set 25-17, before a swift reply from England 25-13. The two countries traded sets again with Scotland mirroring a 25-13 victory, before England drew level 25-21. England would prevail in the final set 15-12 to notch an early victory in their only match on Friday.

Saturday saw the teams scramble against one another to decide who would fill the gold and bronze finals, and England’s first obstacle came Northern Ireland. Although closely contested, England would seal the deal in 3-0 fashion (25-14, 25-20, 25-14) with an ace serve on match point to step closer to the gold medal match.

Their next match-up came in the form of host nation Ireland, where Ireland took the first set 25-20 to threaten England’s chances of competing for gold.

However, England dug deep and fought back to win three sets in a row (25-18, 25-16, 25-16) to take the match 3-1 and advance to the final and remain unbeaten throughout the tournament.

Their match on Sunday was a repeat of the 2025 Five Nations Championships final, where they once again faced Scotland to take home the title. 

While the match went the full distance, history eventually repeated itself as Scotland edged out a 15-13 victory in the final set to take home the gold, leaving England women to reflect on being so near yet so far. 

Although the gold eluded them once more, Head Coach Carol Gordon took a lot of positives to take from the tournament. 

“We’re really proud of this young squad, which had eight U20 players," she said. “Due to a variety of reasons, we could not field a full complement of 14 players, but this group came together with real purpose. 

“The two games against Scotland went to five sets and gave us the opportunity to test our ability to manage momentum. 

“Losing 15-13 in the final, whilst heartbreaking, shows we had a real opportunity to take another win. The Senior Women are in a transition phase and we need more opportunities to play in tournaments like this.

“A huge thank you to VE staff for their support and to Volleyball Ireland for hosting us... and here's to the next one.”

Congratulations to England Women on their second place finish at the BVF Invitational Cup 2026!

England Men

England’s path to the final would also begin with a contest against Scotland - but unlike their female counterparts, would drop their first game in another five-set thriller.

England came out of gates quickly with a 25-21  first-set win, but Scotland quickly rallied to take the next two 26-24 and 25-19.

England drew level at 2-2 (25-20) to send the match to the distance, but the Scots got the job done 15-11 with a super spike to close out the match. 

However, England would return on Saturday determined to reverse their fortunes - and Northern Ireland would be on the receiving end of England’s new-found form as they powered through with some slick play and huge spikes to take clinch the match 3-0 (25-18, 29-27, 25-11).

The team harnessed that momentum as they faced off against host nation Ireland for a spot in the gold medal final, and charged through the opposition, just as they had done earlier in the day, cruising through 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-21).

Sunday would see a rematch against Ireland in the final - and while Ireland put up a stronger fight than the day before, especially with a lethal spike that powered through the England block and nearly took out a cameraperson, England would stay focused and shatter their opponent’s dreams of a win on home soil 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-13) to retain their title won in January 2025.

Head Coach Simon Loftus was pleased with the outcome, but made it clear that this is only just the beginning for a promising England squad.

“We made the decision to go with a young inexperienced team given the proximity of the Nordic Cup and the long term vision to blood the U22 players as they prepare for the European qualifiers in 2027,” he said.

“Overall, I couldn't be prouder of the team and the contribution of each player, as well as Sam Shenton (Assistant Coach) and Chris Jones (Team Manager) in the defence of our title. The development curve and the personal and team growth throughout the matches was fabulous to watch. 

“We didn't start the tournament well and as a result there was a lot of jeopardy in the subsequent matches. Ironically, this type of pressure was exactly what we were wanting to expose the players to. 

“The players embraced the pressure and thrived. I don't like singling out players, but Emmanuel (Oretoye), aged just 17, played a level beyond his years and provided the team with stable passing, serving and defence. 

“Josh (Sturland) put on a clinic in tactical hitting in both games against Ireland to steer us to victory. The leadership of captain Jordan (Dalrymple) can't be overstated. He was vital in terms of mentoring and guiding the less experienced players. 

“The performances of Jelani (Conteh), Khadeem (McKoy-Phillips) and Jim (Cox) have earned them a call up to play with the senior team in the Nordic Cup which shows that the development work that we have been doing over the last two years is beginning to bear fruit. 

“Ultimately, the result is nice but as a group we are looking to compete in the Euro League and European Championships so this is the type of tournament we need to win before looking forward to bigger challenges.”

Congratulations to England Men on their first place finish at the BVF Invitational Cup 2026!

 Pictures by Sport Narrative and Volleyball Ireland.