Women’s pro volleyball: An MVP for Rettke; familiar names as PR league begins; Rivers stays hot

This is our weekly update on USA women playing professional volleyball around the world. Most of the players are former NCAA standouts:

Champions League

Imoco Conegliano started the week by beating Vasas of Hungary 25-17, 22-25, 25-21, 25-18 as Kelsey Cook had six kills (hitting .400) and a block. Stephanie Samedy, who also was a substitute, had six kills and three blocks. Kathryn Plummer did not play. Taylor Bannister led all scorers with 18 kills and three aces for Vasas.

Milano beat Prometey 25-19, 25-18, 24-26, 25-14 as Dana Retke was named MVP after having 12 kills (.706), five blocks and three aces. Jordan Thompson chipped in nine kills and a block, but Jordan Larson did not play.

MVP

What. A. Match. by @dana_rettke#VVGenerations #CLVolleyW pic.twitter.com/DCrNgzCNFn

— Vero Volley (@VeroVolley) January 31, 2023

VakifBank swept Beograd 25-23, 25-18, 25-18. Chiaka Ogbogu led with six kills (.625), a match-high six blocks and an ace. Teammate Kara Bajema added eight kills and three blocks.

Krystal Rivers, who had another huge week, went off for 31 kills and hit .378 to power Stuttgart past LKS Lodz 32-30, 18-25, 25-15, 19-25, 17-15. Simone Lee appeared as a brief substitute for Stuttgart.

CEV Cup

Olympiacos won the first of its playoff-round matches with Liberec 25-19, 25-13, 25-15 as Jaali Winters had 12 kills (.550) and three blocks.

Scandicci avoided the reserve sweep by beating Schwerin 25-21, 25-21, 24-26, 16-25, 15-11. Haleigh Washington had four kills, three blocks and two aces for Scandicci, while Lindsey Ruddins had 14 kills and an ace for Schwerin.

THY stormed past Busto Arsizio 25-20, 25-14, 25-21as Madi Kingdon had nine kills and two blocks. Carli Lloyd had two blocks and a kill while setting for Busto Arsizio.

Challenge Cup

Suhl may be struggling in league play, but beat Prostejov 25-19, 18-25, 25-18, 25-22 as Danielle Harbin had 17 kills and four blocks. Julia Brown chipped in 16 kills and three aces. Setter Jenna Ewert had two kills and a block.

Chieri continued to storm through the competition by sweeping Sliedrecht 25-18, 25-16, 25-18. Brionne Butler did not play for Chieri.

Porto lost to Jedinstvo 25-18, 25-23, 27-25 despite 20 kills and two blocks by Kyra Holt. Tia Jimerson was limited to four kills and a block.

Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rican league began with plenty of names from this past NCAA season and the recent past.

Juncos swept Ponce 25-18, 25-12, 25-23 as Naya Gros led all players with six blocks and three kills. Natalie Hayward added four blocks and three kills while setting for Juncos. Nia Robinson led Ponce with 10 kills and a block. Jhenna Gabriel had two kills and a block while setting for Ponce.

Naranjito began with a win over Manati 25-23, 23-25, 25-18, 25-16. Lindsey Vander Weide led with 15 kills and an ace. Taylor Sandbothe added seven kills, three blocks and an ace. Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres had a kill and a block while setting for Naranjito. Callie Schwarzenbach had six kills, a match-high four blocks and an ace for Manati. Gloria Mutiri added nine kills and two blocks. Setter Mackenzi Welsh had two kills.

Santurce swept Juncos 25-21, 26-24, 25-17. Gina Mancuso was one of five Santurce players in double-figure points with 10 kills. Madi Kubik had four kills, four blocks and two aces in her professional debut. Gros had seven kills and three blocks to pace Juncos. Hayward added two kills and two blocks.

Corozal battled past Caguas 25-18, 27-29, 14-25, 25-20, 15-10. Adanna Rollins was named MVP in her professional debut as she had 18 kills, two blocks and an ace. Ronika Stone added six kills and two blocks. Setter Tori Dilfer had three kills and two blocks. Kashauna Williams had 18 kills, a block and an ace for Caguas. Kayla Caffey chipped in six kills and a block. Setter Seleisa Elisaia had two blocks and an ace while setting.

Manati swept Ponce 26-24, 25-19, 25-19 as Schwarzenbach led all scorers with eight kills, four blocks and an ace. Mutiri added nine kills and a block. Welsh finished with three blocks and an ace. Robinson led Ponce with 11 kills and a block. Gabriel added one kill and a block while Madison Smith had four kills.

Italy

Milano’s beat Perugia (24-26, 25-20, 26-24, 25-11 and Dana Rettke picked up her second MVP award of the week after getting nine kills (.750), a match-high eight blocks and an ace. Larson was the second top scorer with 10 kills, three blocks and two aces. Jordan Thompson came off the bench to rescue set three with four kills and a block for Milano (13-4), who ended a two-match losing streak.

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1⃣8⃣ punti per una ???????????????????????????????????????????? @dana_rettke #VVGenerations pic.twitter.com/H0UgALoVkE

— Vero Volley (@VeroVolley) February 4, 2023

Novara battled past Busto Arsizio 17-25, 26-24, 23-25, 26-24, 15-10. McKenzie Adams was the top scorer for Novara (13-4) with 16 kills and three blocks as Novara won its fourth in a row. Lloyd added two kills and a block while setting for Busto Arsizio (7-10).

Scandicci proved to be too much for Casalmaggiore 17-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-21. Washington had nine kills (.500) and three blocks for Scandicci (13-4). Ali Frantti led Casalmaggiore (9-8) with 18 kills and two blocks. Lauren Carlini chipped in five kills, two blocks, and two aces.

Conegliano (16-1) pulled a reverse sweep against Chieri 25-27, 21-25, 25-21, 25-17, 15-9. Cook came off the bench to have nine kills, a block and an ace. Plummer had one kill in brief appearance. Brionne Butler did not score as a substitute for Chieri (12-5).

Firenze won its third in a row by sweeping Macerata 25-23, 25-18, 25-23. Rhamat Alhassan came off the bench for Firenze (7-10) to have five kills and two blocks. Akuabata Okenwa led Macerata (2-15) with eight kills and an ace. Symone Abbott had six kills, while Claire Chaussee had seven.

Vallefoglia overcame Pinerolo 29-27, 15-25, 28-26, 25-16 as Annie Drews had 13 kills and an ace. Micha Hancock added four kills and an ace while setting for Vallefoglia (7-10).

Bergamo (8-9) returned to the win column by beating Cuneo 25-20, 19-25, 16-25, 25-23, 15-10 as Khalia Lanier led with 15 kills, two blocks and an ace. Mac May had two kills in a substitute appearance. Anna Stevenson-Hall had nine kills and a block for Cuneo (6-11), which has dropped four matches in a row.

Turkey

Kuzeyboru (6-11) broke its eight-match losing streak by beating Cukurova 18-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21 as Annie Mitchem led with 24 kills (.431) and an ace.

Galatasaray avoided the reverse sweep against SigortaShop 25-16, 25-16, 23-25, 18-25, 25-13. Logan Eggleston had 13 kills for Galatasaray (12-5), which has won five matches in a row. Kelsie Payne led SigortaShop (3-14) with 22 kills and a block. Marin Grote added 11 kills (.409) and four blocks.

THY (12-5) moved back into fourth as it overpowered Nilufer 25-12, 25-20, 20-25, 25-21 as Kingdon made a brief substitute appearance. Brooke Nuneviller had six kills for Nilufer (9-8), while Sherridan Atkinson was limited to just two in a brief appearance in their team’s third loss in a row.

Fenerbahce swept a shorthanded VakifBank to end the week 25-20, 25-18, 33-31. Ogbogu had eight kills (.438) and three blocks for VakifBank (15-2). Bajema came off the bench and chipped in five kills and an ace.

Japan

Toyota Autobody Queenseis was swept in its series against Kurobe. Kurobe won the first 25-20, 25-21, 26-24. Danielle Cuttino led Queenseis with 18 kills and a block. Kurobe won the second 22-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-20 and Cuttino was top scorer again, this time with 19 kills and two blocks.

Karsta Lowe returned to action as JT Marvelous swept the weekend series from PFU. JT Marvelous took the first 25-17, 25-16, 25-20. Lowe led with 20 kills (.545) and two blocks. Her team won the next 25-15, 25-18, 22-25, 25-15). and she had 13 kills.

Hannah Tapp of Hitachi Rivale has returned home after getting injured.

France

Venelles (9-9) upset TFOC 25-21, 23-25, 26-24, 25-23 as Samantha Drechsel led with 21 kills, two blocks and an ace. Setter August Raskie added a kill and a block. Shannon Scully led TFOC (13-5) with 20 kills (.447) and a block. Taylor Fricano had 16 kills, two aces and a block and Kendall White was credited with 15% positive reception.

Volero Le Cannet snapped the winning streak of Beziers 23-25, 25-17, 21-25, 25-22, 15-10. Avery Skinner led Beziers (12-6) with 20 kills (.410) and three blocks. Blake Mohler had five kills and two blocks. Madison Lilley added a block and an ace while setting. Justine Wong-Orantes was credited with 35% positive reception.

Nantes (16-2) remained in first place by sweeping Saint Raphael 25-16, 25-21, 25-20. Taylor Mims led with14 kills and three blocks. Jaelyn Keene added six kills and two blocks. Malina Terrell led Saint Raphael (7-11) with 13 kills.

Mulhouse handed Cannes its second loss in a row 25-19, 25-23, 17-25, 25-19. Carli Snyder led Cannes (9-9) with 11 kills and two aces. Madeline Gates and Claire Felix both had seven kills and three blocks. Gates also added two aces. Setter Jenna Gray had two kills, one block, and an ace.

Germany

Stuttgart (12-1) held off a fierce comeback from Schwerin, winning 25-16, 25-22, 20-25, 20-25, 15-11). Rivers was named MVP after getting 27 kills (.396) and an ace for Stuttgart. Lee came off the bench to have 12 kills (.346). Ruddins led Schwerin (11-3) with 18 kills and an ace.

Vilsbiburg pulled off a reverse sweep of Munster 19-25, 16-25, 25-13, 25-22, 15-12. Zoe Fleck was credited with 35% positive reception for Munster.

Aachen lost to Potsdam 25-19, 25-13, 15-25, 34-32. Setter Ashley Evans had a match-high three blocks and a kill for Aachen (7-6).

Greece

PAOK (14-1) won its fourth in a row by sweeping Ilisiakos 25-17, 25-18, 25-10. Payton Caffrey led 14 kills (.462), two aces, and a block.Aris ended Markopoulo’s winning streak 25-17, 25-16, 25-23. Audriana Fitzmorris had 10 kills for Markopoulo (6-9) while Becca Latham added 10 kills and an ace.

Olympiacos (11-4) swept Aigaleo 25-22, 25-20, 25-17. Winters had eight kills (.438) and an ace.

Panathinaikos (12-3) won its third in a row by beating Thiras 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19 as Adora Anae had nine kills and two aces.

 

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