International women: Big weeks for Lee, Rettke; Robinson has back-to-back 28-kill matches

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:

CEV Cup

The all-German clash finally took place as Stuttgart advanced to the semifinals with a 25-19, 25-12, 21-25, 25-21 victory over Schwerin. Simone Lee took home MVP honors as she had 23 kills (hitting .390), one block, and two aces. Krystal Rivers contributed 11 kills (.108) and an ace. Schwerin was playing for the first time in two weeks due to covid pauses. Stephanie Samedy had 13 kills (.186). Lindsey Ruddins and Symone Speech both made brief appearances.

Turkey

Action returned to the Turkish league on Monday with THY upsetting Fenerbahce in five, 23-25, 16-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-9. The reverse sweep, fueled by Lauren Carlini’s floor defense, moved THY up to third place in the league. Carlini had two kills, one block, and two aces. Madi Kingdon-Rishel had 15 kills (.216), one block, and an ace. Tori Dixon sat out due to foreigner limits.

Vakifbank got off to a fast star, overpowering Bolu 25-7, 25-20, 25-27, 25-17. Chiaka Ogbogu was top scorer as she had 12 kills (.625) and seven blocks. Michelle Barstch-Hackley made a brief appearance as a serving sub in set three.

THY followed up with another win on Friday, this time a 25-17, 25-15, 25-21 sweep of Karayollari. Carlini had two kills and a block as THY hit .337. Kingdon-Rishel added 12 kills (.333) while Dixon did not play. THY (15-4) moved up to third place, displacing Fenerbahce.

Vakifbank rested some starters as it was easily victorious over Nilufer 25-15, 25-17, 25-20. Bartsch-Hackley played two sets where she had four kills (.273) and one block. Ogbogu did not play. Vakifbank improved to 16-2, sitting alone in first place after its eighth straight win.

Anna Stevenson made her presence known as she helped Aydin to a 25-14, 25-9, 25-17 sweep of Yesilyurt. Stevenson led with nine kills (.667), three blocks and an ace. Aydin (8-11) is in ninth, still one place out of the playoff positions.

Italy

In a midweek clash, Novara stopped Monza’s streak, coming away with a 20-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-21 victory. Micha Hancock had one of her best matches of the year as she finished with three aces, two blocks, and a kill. Novara hit .280. Haleigh Washington did not play. For Monza, Dana Rettke had six kills (.500) and two blocks.

Rettke’s hot start in Italy continued, as she led Monza to a sweep over Scandicci. Rettke was named MVP of the match after leading Monza with 14 points. She finished with 13 kills (.619) and a block. Rettke was responsible for ending both sets 1 and 2, finishing off both sets with her signature slide. Monza improved to 14-4 and remained in first place.

Novara’s tough serving was too much for Cuneo to handle as Novara won 25-16, 25-23, 25-19. Hancock led with four aces and set Novara to hit .299. Washington did not play for the second match in a row. Novara (13-2), moved up to fourth place, but has played less matches than the teams above it.

Imoco Conegliano had too much fire power on the pins for Busto Arsizio pulling away late in each set in the 25-21, 25-21, 25-23 sweep. The match was near even at the midpoint of each set before Imoco (14-2) eventually pulled away through Kathryn Plummer and Paola Egonu. Plummer had 15 kills (.379) while teammate Megan Courtney-Lush had 4 (.118). Plummer and Courtney-Lush both passed over 70% positive, the only players to do so. Jordyn Poulter had a kill and an ace for Busto (11-7), which hit .250. Imoco sits second in the league, but have played two less matches than Monza. Busto fell to fifth place.

Bergamo finally ended its nine-match losing streak, beating Perugia 25-23, 25-18, 14-25, 25-18. Khalia Lanier was top scorer with 19 points. She had 13 kills (.186), four aces, and two blocks to lead Bergamo. It was not Mac May’s day as she finished with two kills (-.071) before leaving in set three. Bergamo (4-12) has moved out of the relegation zone, in 12th place.

Roma won its second match in a row with a 26-24, 26-24, 21-25, 25-15 upset of Chieri. Roma, led by setter Madison Bugg, stormed back from deficits in set one and two. Bugg had four kills (.500) and three aces and Roma hit .233. Ali Frantti and Rhamat Alhassan made brief substitute appearances for Chieri. Roma (6-11) moved up to 10th place while Chieri (10-6) stayed in sixth.

Japan

Kelsey Robinson was on fire as Toyota Autobody Queenseis took the weekend series from Himeji Victorina. In the first match, Queenseis won 25-18, 22-25, 25-13, 28-26. Robinson had 28 kills (.444) to lead all scorers. Queenseis kept the momentum going in match two, winning 25-23, 25-27, 25-23, 25-23). Robinson had 28 kills (.450) again to go along with a block and an ace. Queenseis (4-18) has won four of its last five matches.

JT Marvelous fell for just the second time this season, losing 27-25, 25-23, 24-26, 7-25, 15-13 to Denso. Annie Drews had 27 kills (.302) and two blocks. JT Marvelous bounced back to win the rematch 25-22, 25-23, 25-14. Drews had 13 kills (.480) and an ace as JT Marvelous improved to 16-2, still in first place.

Foluke Akinradewo-Gunderson returned to action with Hisamitsu Springs against Okayama. Hisamitsu Springs swept the first match but went to overtime in the second and third sets, 25-23, 31-29, 31-29. Akinradewo had 22 kills (.710) and a block. Okayama won the rematch 25-19, 20-25, 29-27, 25-21. Akinradewo followed with 14 kills (.542) and three blocks. Hisamitsu Springs (11-6) remained in fifth place.

All other matches were postponed.

Germany

Vilsbiburg bounced back from losing last week to beat Erfurt 25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19. Tiffany Clark was credited with 20 receptions, leading Vilsbiburg with 50% positive reception. Alexis Hart led with 20 kills (.271) and three aces as Vilsbiburg improved to 5-9 and now sits in a playoff position in eighth place.

Potsdam defeated Aachen 25-19, 25-22, 25-20, but Madison Lilley and Lauren Page did not play.

Balanced Dresdner, led by Jenna Gray, swept Erfurt 25-15, 28-26, 25-18. Gray was named MVP of the match as each of her pin hitters had over seven kills. Madeline Gates added five kills (.444), two aces, and a block for Dresdner (11-4). For Erfurt (3-12), Kennedy Eschenberg was named silver MVP as she had five kills (.250), three blocks, and an ace.

Potsdam swept Munster 25-22, 25-21, 25-19. Madison Lilley and Lauren Page both made a brief substitute appearance. Potsdam (11-4) moved into a tie with Dresdner for second place.

Krystal Rivers led Stuttgart to a 25-22, 25-12, 25-20 win over Aachen. Rivers had 14 kills (.379), three blocks, and an ace. T’Ara Ceasar filled in for Simone Lee in the starting lineup. Caesar had 10 kills (.349) and a block. Stuttgart remains undefeated in the German league, 15-0.

All other matches were postponed.

Poland

Rzeszow had no problem with UNI Opole, coming away with a 25-12, 25-16, 25-23 sweep. Kara Bajema was top scorer again, leading with 18 points. She had 11 kills (.269), three blocks, and four aces. Rzeszow (17-1) still commands first place in the league standings.

Chemik Police were victorious in its clash against Radom, winning 25-23, 23-25, 25-18, 25-16. Dani Drews finished with 14 kills (.619), two blocks, and an ace for Chemik Police (14-4).

LKS Lodz overcame a slow start against lowly Joker Swiecie (2-15) to win 21-25, 25-22, 25-11, 25-16 in its first match since head coach Michal Masek was fired. Veronica Jones-Perry had 11 kills (.179), two blocks, and an ace for Lodz. Lodz (11-6) will rely on new signing Valentina Diouf (Italy) to help climb from its current fourth place in the standings.

Brazil

Minas fell to Praia Clube 25-20, 17-25, 15-25, 25-21, 15-10 to start the week. Danielle Cuttino did not play.

Osasco returned to action with a 25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22 win over Barueri. Rachael Adams had nine kills (.429), three blocks, and an ace.

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Minas bounced back with a 25-19, 25-13, 25-11 win over Curitiba. Cuttino returned to play in the second and third sets. She finished with five kills (.364) and a block for Minas. Minas improved to 12-3.

Osasco won against Pinheiros 25-17, 25-17, 25-22 to end the week. Adams finished with five kills (.286) and a block. Osasco improved to 12-2 and is tied for second in the league with Minas, having played one less match.

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