International women: Kingdon, Dixon, Carlini lead THY; big weeks for Bajema, Jones-Perry, Cuttino

There are hundreds of American women playing professional volleyball internationally. Our weekly report tracks many of them. Almost all in this report are former NCAA stars:

Champions League

THY came away with the upset of the week in the Champions League as it beat a short-handed Novara 25-21, 17-25, 25-23, 25-16. For THY, Madi Kingdon-Rishel came off of the bench to contribute 11 kills (hitting .300), two blocks, and an ace. Tori Dixon had five kills (.231) and four blocks. Setter Lauren Carlini contributed three kills and four blocks as THY hit .234. For Novara, Haleigh Washington had five kills (.063) and two blocks. Micha Hancock started the first two sets for Novara.

Imoco advanced to the quarterfinal stage with a 25-16, 25-22, 25-13 win over Ub (Serbia). Megan Courtney-Lush had seven kills (.278) and a block for Imoco, while passing 75% positive on 12 receptions. Kathryn Plummer did not play.

Rzeszow clinched a berth in the quarterfinals for the first time with a 25-19, 25-22, 26-24 step of Dresdener. Kara Bajema picked up yet another MVP award as she had 14 kills (.429) and three blocks for Rzeszow. For Dresdner, Madeleine Gates had two kills (.000), two blocks, and an ace. Jenna Gray had one kill as Dresdner hit .158.

Chemik Police easily overcame Nyiregyhaza (Hungary) 25-18, 25-18, 25-13. Dani Drews was a sub in the first two sets and started set 3. Drews finished with five kills (.500) and four positive receptions (100%).

Dana Rettke’s pro debut was no easy task as Monza faced off against Club World Champion Vakifbank. Vakifbank overcame a fast start by Monza, winning 21-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-12. Chiaka Ogbogu had 10 kills while hitting .769 and two blocks, while Michelle Barstch-Hackley had 11 kills (.067) and an ace. Rettke had four kills (.333) while playing the first three sets.

CEV Cup

Veronica Jones-Perry led LKZ Lodz with 32 kills (.266), two blocks, and an ace as her team had a tough five-set win over Mladost (Croatia) 27-29, 25-21, 25-14, 20-25, 15-9, but was eliminated after losing the golden set tiebreak 15-11. Jones-Perry, playing outside hitter, had 42 receptions which she passed 42% positively.

Stuttgart were awarded a 25-0, 25-0, 25-0 win over Schwerin as the latter were not able to field a squad due to COVID spread.

Italy

Monza pulled off the upset of the week in Italy with an emphatic 23-25, 25-20, 27-25, 25-13 win over Imoco Conegliano. Rettke, making her Italian league debut, was absolutely brilliant. She finished with 10 kills (.600), three blocks, and two aces for Monza (13-3). For Imoco, Plummer returned to action with six kills (.067) while Courtney-Lush came off the bench in each set, but did not record any kills. This was the first loss for Imoco (13-2) in under five sets for the first time since 2019 and the first time in the league since 2018.

Bergamo lost its eighth straight match, falling to Casalmaggiore in five 23-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-22, 15-12. Khalia Lanier returned to her usual spot at outside hitter and had 18 kills (.200) and one block to lead Bergamo. Mac May shifted to opposite, only playing two sets. She finished with two kills (.000) and one block. Bergamo fell to 3-12.

Chieri overcame a fast start from Trentino, coming away with a 22-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-23. Alli Frantti contributed two kills (.000) and a block before leaving with an injury. She returned to have the match-winning kill. Rhamat Alhassan made a brief substitute appearance for Chieri (10-5).

Busto Arsizio could not recover from a set one collapse as they fell to Scandicci 29-27, 25-20, 25-15. Jordyn Poulter had an ace for Busto Arsizio as her team hit .301. Busto Arsizio fell to 11-6.

Novara’s match with Perugia was postponed due to COVID.

Poland

LKS Lodz had no problem with Volley Wroclaw, sweeping 25-16, 25-18, 25-16. Jones-Perry had seven kills (.333), one block, and three aces for Lodz (10-6) as it improved to move up to fourth place.

Rzeszow overcame a slow start and beat Joker Swiecie 23-25, 25-16, 25-13, 25-11. Bajema was again the top scorer for the league leaders Rzeszow (16-1), as she had 17 kills (.424) and two blocks.

Drews received the first start of her professional career as Chemik Police defeated Bydgoszcz 24-26, 25-21, 25-19, 25-18. Drews had 15 kills (.344) and a block while passing 54% positive on 24 receptions. She also received her first MVP award of her career as Chemik Police (13-4) remain in second place in the league.

Brazil

SESI Bauru upset Minas in the final of the Brazilian Cup 25-18, 27-25, 25-20. Nia Reed led SESI and all scorers with 18 points. Danielle Cuttino had 14 for Minas.

Minas bounced back in the league to beat SESC-RJ 26-28, 25-21, 18-25, 25-15, 15-11 as Cuttino had 25 more kills (.370) and a block.

Osasco was set to play Curitiba, but it was postponed.

Germany

Potsdam roared back to beat Vilsbiburg 20-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-10. Madison Lilley exited after set one for Potsdam (9-4). Tiffany Clark had 17 receptions for Vilsbiburg (4-9), finishing with 35% positive reception.

All other matches in Germany were postponed.

Japan

All matches in Japan were postponed this weekend.

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