Serbia's most proud moment came at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 when under the name
Yugoslavia it won Olympic gold. A heavy favourite was team Italy, who won the last three World Championships and the European title in 1995 and 1999, but they had yet to win an Olympic gold medal. They swept through Group B undefeated and won their quarter-final match over Australia. In the semifinals, Serbia & Montenegro (Yugoslavia), runners-up at the 1998 Worlds, and bronze medalists at the 1999 Europeans, triumphed in straight sets, again denying Italy an Olympic gold medal. Serbia & Montenegro had struggled in the pools, finishing only third behind Italy and Russia, but they defeated Russia in straight sets in the final to win the gold medal. As in 1996, all medalists came from the same pool, this time Group B. Volleyball was brought to Serbia by g. William Viland, a professor of
folklore and folk sports from
Oakland, California, when the
Red Cross held a series of lectures and demonstrations of American sports in
Belgrade and
Novi Sad. It is believed that his arrival marked the beginning of volleyball in this area, and in 1924 is considered the year when the first volleyball ball came to Serbia. During the period of occupation, between 1941 and 1944, volleyball was played very actively, numerous competitions were held, and more sports clubs/society's had established its volleyball section. The
Serbian/Yugoslav Volleyball Federation was founded in 1946 by the Alliance for Physical Education of Yugoslavia. A year later, in 1947, the
International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) was founded and the former Yugoslavia was one of the 14 founders. From 13 February 1949, the Volleyball Federation became an independent sports organization. Two years later, at the European Championships held in Paris, the women's volleyball team of Yugoslavia won the bronze medal for the first time. This success was repeated with the men's event in 1975, when Serbia for the first time in history hosted the biggest European competition, both the men's and women's events. The Serbian team in the last match of the final group defeated Bulgaria in the crowded hall of "Pioneer" in Belgrade and won the bronze medal.
2011 – 2019 In 2011 Serbia became European champion and in 2016 the champion of FIVB World League for the first time, with
Marko Ivović being crowned MVP of the tournament and
Srećko Lisinac being chosen as the Best Middle Blocker.
2019 – 2021 After two bronze medal
2013 and
2017, Serbia become European champion again in
2019 with
Uroš Kovačević being crowned MVP of the tournament. ==Medals==